Zenith
by Lord Dogma
Summary: Ash Ketchum is on a journey to become a Pokémon Master with his starter Bulbasaur. Ash and his team must grow strong to overcome the difficult obstacles he'll face in his journey to be the best. Will Ash be subdued by the challenges he'll have to face, or will he vanquish them and reach the summit?
1. The Journey Begins

**A/N 1 : This is an AU fic where Ash starter is different. He will be choosing a Bulbasaur as his starter and will catch more than six pokemon, during his journey.**

 **A** **/N 2 : The age where trainers get their license has been increased from ten to fifteen.**

 **A** **/N 3 : English is not my first language, so if I make any errors, I'm sorry. Let me know and I will edit them. Reviews are important as they motivate me to write more chapters quickly.**

 **Disclaimer** **: I don't own pokémon.**

 **Now, on with the story..**

XxXxXxX

In the little town of Pallet, sunlight beamed into a small bedroom. A boy of fifteen was awake and was about to get ready to embark on what would be the most important day of his life. It was the day he, Ash Ketchum would finally become a trainer.

He was supposed to start his journey when he was ten years old on this very day but the Indigo League increased the starting age of trainers from 10 to 15 a few years back. This decision was made because of the accidents and other problems young trainers faced with their pokemon. For a while Ash was sad that he had to wait a while longer to start his journey. He usually spent his time playing and studying about pokemon, waiting for the day he became a trainer and accomplish his dream of being a Pokemon Master.

"Ashy, come down for breakfast!" His mother said from the kitchen. "I'm coming Mom!" Ash exclaimed from them room above.

He got dressed and went downstairs and saw his mother with a smile on her face as she leaned against the wall. "Are you ready to start your journey?"

"Yeah, I'm definitely ready." Ash announced. "I've been waiting for this day since I was 10. I have all my supplies packed and only thing left to do is to get my starter from Professor Oak".

Not all trainers got the regional starters while starting their journey. Only those trainers who had been sponsored by a licensed professor could receive them. Trainers who could afford to spend a lot of money could also get them from breeding centers. Ash had studied endlessly to get one of the starters and surely enough; he had been one to the 3 chosen to get the regional starters apart from Gary and Leaf

"You did work hard to get one of the regional starters. Have you decided on which starter to choose?" He said with a wide smile on his face, "Yes I have."

He had thought about his choice for a while. It had been hard to choose among the three regional starters as they all were strong in their own right and each of them were rare and highly valued pokemon.

Charmander, the fire type, was the strongest of the three starters having a perfect blend of speed and power yet was the hardest to train because of their prideful nature which grew as they evolved. It was this mean streak which caused all sorts of problems for its trainer. They were tough, draconian creatures whose fire could burn through anything. Even though it's defensive capabilities were not as great as the other two starters, a Charizard could easily annihilate its foes with its powerful and versatile attacks.

The water type Squirtle was more defensive than the other two starters. Squirtle along with its evolutionary forms had a hard shell that was almost impenetrable from physical attacks. It could release high pressure blasts of water that had the power to crush even steel with its power. In addition it could also use its thick skull to deliver powerful tackles. Its final form, Blastoise had such high defense that it could shrug off most attacks with ease and had the ability to be a heavy tank, if properly trained.

The idea of getting either of the two starters sounded great to him. He know what he wanted, he wanted the third starter, Bulbasaur.

Bulbasaur was a tough grass type; it could either be utilized as a battler or as a pokemon that could immobilize its foes with its toxins and other ailments. In addition to being a great battler, it was also quite effective in catching other pokemon with its ability to perform moves like Sleep power, Poison powder from its bulb. Bulbasaur could trap wild pokemon with its vines and trap them, leading to easy captures. Its final form, Venasaur was regarded as the strongest grass species in Kanto for it could attack, defend and heal. It would prove to be a huge asset for any trainer, which was what exactly what he wanted.

XxXxXxX

Ash quickly finished his breakfast, grabbing his cap. "I better get going mom, I don't want to be late to get my starter." Ash declared opening the door. "Ok, but you better come home and show it to me." his mother said giving a small smile.

Ash started walking towards the Professor's lab and within a few minutes he reached his destination. He climbed the stairs and opened the door of Professor Oak's Lab. He was supposed to reach by 8:00 am but he decided to come a little early. "Guess Ashy boy couldn't wait a little longer to get his pokemon" came an obnoxious voice that Ash had no doubt had been Gary's.

Gary had been standing by the door and gave him a hand, which Ash returned "Hello to you too Gary, thought I'd come and check up on you before getting my starter" Ash replied with a tiny smirk. "Whatever Ashy boy, now all we got to do is to wait up for Leaf. That girl is taking forever to get here." said Gary with a frown, giving a small kick to the floor.

"You do realize I can hear you right, Gary?" remarked a third voice. "I came here as fast as I could". "Guess you're not fast enough to beat me, huh?" said Gary arrogantly.

Just as Leaf was going to retort, Professor Oak came into the room holding a set of 3 pokeballs having a small sticker of fire, water and grass on them.

It didn't take them any time at all to guess what was inside them. He soon released the pokeballs and the figures of Bulbasaur, Squirtle and Charmander came to view. "Now children, now that you're all here you can finally choose your starter and begin your journey. "

"Since, you are the only girl here Leaf, why don't you go first? " asked Professor Oak gently. "Thanks Professor," said Leaf happily; she quickly went to squirtle and bent towards it. She gave a smile and said "Hi Squirtle, do you wanna join me on my journey? We'll have lots of fun and we can get stronger together." The squirtle nodded its head and gave her a small nudge on her arm. Leaf, happily got back up and took Squirtle's poke ball from Professor Oak.

Leaf couldn't help but notice the weird look from Gary. "What, you thought I would go for Bulbasaur?" Leaf asked.

"Man, I really wanted that Squirtle", replied Gary with a frown.

"It's okay Gary, you can't get what you want all the time" retorted Leaf with a wink. "Why you little….."

"Ash, it's your turn." Professor Oak's voice came quickly diffusing the situation. Ash came toward the Bulbasaur and knelt down. "Hey buddy, I'm gonna be your trainer, do you wanna travel with me? I promise to help you become the strongest Venusaur in the world." Bulbasaur's eyes glinted and it nodded it head happily.

"I'm sure you will Ash "said Professor Oak with a small smile. "Now Gary, go on, choose your starter".

"Ok Gramps, I don't mind getting Charmander because it has the type advantage against Ash's bulbasaur. Besides charizard is a great pokemon." Gary answered with a smirk, patting charmander on the head.

"Type advantages, don't mean everything in a battle, Gary." came Professor Oak's voice. "Whatever you say Gramps" Gary replied with a smirk.

"Now that you all received your starters, I will be returning them and you can let them out after leaving the lab. He opened a drawer and took out 3 red devices which shone in the light of the sun.

"I will be giving you children a Pokedex each. The pokedex is a digital encyclopedia which is an invaluable tool to trainers. It can be used to find information about every Pokemon species registered by you. It can also be used to determine your pokemon's gender and the moves they currently have. The pokedex will be registered under your name and cannot be replaced if lost, so please take care of it. Here are 5 pokeballs to aid you in capturing your future companions." Professor Oak said handing them the devices

"I wish you three all the best in your journey and I will be waiting to see your progress, so please keep me updated once in a while. Be careful and have fun." Professor Oak giving them a smile.

"Thanks Professor/Gramps" replied the excited teenagers with matching smiles or smirk in Gary's case.

Ash took bulbasaur's pokeball from the table and attached it to his belt. He turned to his starter and asked "Do you wanna walk with me to my house, buddy?" Bulbasaur looked at its trainer for a few seconds. It nodded its head and began walking with its trainer.

On the way home, he remembered Professor talking about the uses of the pokedex and took it out of his pocket and pointed it towards his starter. "Don't worry Bulbasaur, this will just show me information about you"

 _Bulbasaur, the Seed Pokemon. By soaking up the sun's rays, the seed on its back grows progressively larger. A young Bulbasaur uses the nutrients from its seed for the energy it needs to grow._

 _This Bulbasaur is Male and has the ability Overgrow, which boosts its grass type moves when low on health._

 _This Pokemon knows the following moves: Tackle, Amnesia, Vine Whip and Leaf Storm_

 _Note: The moves Amnesia and Leaf Storm are egg moves._

"Whoa Bulbasaur, you're a tough little guy aren't ya?"

Bulbasaur lifted up in head proudly in agreement looking at his trainer

"That reminds me bud, would you like a nickname?" Bulbasaur nodded his head with interest."How about Bulb? ". The dry look Bulbasaur gave him was enough to change his mind.

"How about Saur?" Bulbasaur nodded with a grin towards Ash who matched him with a similar one stretched across his face.

They soon reached the entrance of his home, and opened the door. His mother, who was watching the television, seeing the duo got up and came towards them."Is this your starter Ashy? He's so cute!" said Delia with a wide smile, bending down and scratching Bulbasaur under the chin to which it gave a small croaking sound.

"Okay mom, I'm gonna go get my bag pack from my room, before heading out" giving a weak smile to his mother."Stay here Saur, I'll be right back" .While heading to his room, Ash noticed the TV was on. As he was about to switch it off, the breaking news caught his attention.

"A swarm of trapinch has been recently sighted near Pewter City. They are confirmed to be heading South, towards Viridian City and then towards Johto via Tohjo Falls. Trainers wishing to catch one, best hurry! A team of Researchers have concluded that, the swarm will leave Kanto entirely in a week's time. That's all for Poketime today. Stay tuned for special pokemon sightings!"

"Whoa, a trapinch swarm, if I'm lucky, I could find one on the road." Ash thought switching off the television. After getting his back pack and supplies, he came back downstairs. He saw his mother, waiting for him with Bulbasaur next to her.

"Look after my son Bulbasaur; I'm leaving him in your capable vines" Delia giving a small laugh to which Bulbasaur nodded his head in joy.

"Guess this is it mom, I promise I'll call you after reaching Viridian City" Giving her a tight hug which she returned nearly crushing him.

"I'll miss you Ashy. Have fun on your Journey and be safe" He gave her a small smile and opened the door to leave. "And don't forget to change your Underwear" He heard her say. "I hope nobody heard that" He said with a laugh. While he would definitely miss his mother and their home, he had been waiting for his journey for years.

"Time to get the show on the road" He thought, forcing a smile on his face. "Let's go Saur" calling out to his starter as they began the first step into their journey.

XxXxXxX

Route 1 as it was commonly called was the quiet little road connecting Pallet Town to Viridian City. One could find Pidgey , Rattata and even Spearow in abundance. Even a Pidgeotto could be found if a trainer looked hard enough. Ash and Bulbasaur walked side by side on the dirt path. The journey from his home was uneventful. They faced a few Rattata's and even the occasional Pidgey but they were children of their respective species and didn't pose much of a challenge to Bulbasaur and his Tackle attack.

The duo had been walking side by side for a while, and they hadn't encountered a strong pokemon to battle yet. Soon they arrived at a small clearing; Ash noticed a tree stump and proceeded to sit on it. Pulling out a sandwich from his backpack which him mom had thoughtfully prepared for him and took a bite out of it. He also took out the pokemon food and placed it in front of Bulbasaur, who had a greedy look in his eyes and began munching on his share happily.

After they had eaten their fill, Ash called out to his starter "Hey buddy, you think we could work on your other moves now?" The Bulbasaur nodded and proceeded to turn towards a tree which would be his target. Having seen Tackle and having an idea what kind of move Amnesia was, Ash decided to try the other two moves. "Okay Saur, show me Vine whip" Ash called out

Bulbasaur stretched out two vines from either side of the bulb and smacked the tree with them, leaving large marks over its bark.

"Nice Saur, we'll beat the Pewter gym for sure. Now show me Leaf Storm"

Bulbasaur began building in energy in his body; more leaves surrounding his body with every passing second. Suddenly green light surrounded him before he released a flurry of leaves in the direction of the tree. A large number of leaves struck the tree leaving behind multiple scratches on its bark.

The attack had drained Bulbasaur as he was breathing heavily. After giving him a few minutes to rest, Ash turned to him "Whoa Saur, That move is definitely your strongest but using it in the middle of a battle leaves you open, so why don't you say we use that as a last resort, at least until you evolve ?

The Bulbasaur, giving a tilt to his head in agreement, still tired after using his strongest move.

The duo rested for a while and got back on the road. He hadn't encountered any trainers yet and hoping he would soon.

"Hey, you." a voice broke him out of his thoughts.

"Can I help you?" He asked the stranger. "Let's have a battle, my bugs will crush you." the boy boasted with a smirk.

Ash shook his head in disappointment; his first trainer battle was against a bug catcher. Bug catcher was the title given to any trainer who only sought to capture bugs and train them because they grew quickly and could reach their final evolutions in a few weeks with proper training.

Their Pokemon's fast growth made them a little hard for beginning trainers to defeat, but to an experienced trainer, it was like nothing hard.

He promised himself he would not lose to this kid. "Why don't you go first?" Ash said, giving a small smile.

"It doesn't matter because you're gonna lose either way" declared the bug catcher. He threw a pokeball into the air shouting "Weedle, I choose you." After the Weedle materialized in front of him. He gave a cocky grin and said "Let's see if you're close to my level"

Ash, took a breath, and grabbed Bulbasaur's Pokeball from his belt. "Saur, Battle Stance" He cried out releasing his starter."You can have the first move too" Ash said with a smirk.

"I'll make you regret it!" cried the other boy."Weedle, use poison sting. " Weedle quickly pointing the glowing stinger on top of its head, jumped towards Bulbasaur.

"Bulbasaur, use Vine Whip to knock it out of your way" Bulbasaur immediately released a vine and slammed it into the Weedle who ended being tossed a good feet away from its original position.

"Weedle, are you alright?" asked the boy with concern in his voice. The Weedle got up albeit with a little difficulty but waited for another command by his Trainer.

"Weedle, use String Shot to bind Bulbasaur." Instantly a line of silk came out of Weedle's mouth and hit Bulbasaur, preventing him from moving. "Now get close and use poison Sting." Weedle began charging towards Bulbasaur with its stinger ready

"Bulbasaur, it's time to finish this! Use Leaf Storm" Ash screamed out. Bulbasaur began charging and leaves started surrounding his body. He began glowing green and leaves started rushing out from his body in a flurry of motion. The attack continued to hit everything around Bulbasaur including Weedle. When the attack was over, Weedle lay a few feet away from Bulbasaur, unable to move."

The Bug catcher sighed in defeat and came over to Ash and handed him 500 Pokedollars. "Good battle" Ash called out to the boy who gave him a nod.

"Hey" called out the bug catcher, "There's a flock of Spearow, headed by a rather large and angry Fearow. If I were you, I'd get to the City as soon as possible".

Ash initially wanted to catch a pokemon or two before arriving at Viridian but he'd be a fool not to heed the advice. In the end, Ash decided not to take any chances against an entire flock on his own. He decided to quicken his pace lest he encounter an angry flock.

XxXxXxX

After quite a few hours of travelling, which also involved battling some more Bug catchers, Ash finally reached Viridian City. He was tired after the day's events and wanted nothing more than a bed to sleep in.

He was interrupted from his thoughts by an Officer. "Excuse me, young man. I need to see your identification if you want to enter my beautiful city." Officer Jenny said with a frown.

Ash handed over his Pokedex to her. She pressed a button under the Pokedex. A page popped out, showing his picture and details. "This Pokedex belongs to Ash Ketchum of Pallet Town and is issued by Professor Oak of Pallet Town. If lost, I cannot be replaced" it blurted out in a monotone voice.

"Alright kid, you're good to go. All the officers in Viridian are a little jumpy because we've been encountering Pokemon thieves a lot lately." Officer Jenny said, giving him a smile

"Its okay officer, you were just doing your job." He replied. "Goodbye Officer" .Giving her a nod which she returned.

He managed to find the Pokemon centre with little difficulty because of its bright red roof. He turned to Bulbasaur who had been walking with him from his home town. "Hey buddy, I'm going to recall you now. I'm gonna give you to Nurse Joy so that she can heal you. It'll be over quick" He said, scratching Bulbasaur, under his chin.

He recalled Bulbasaur and went to Nurse Joy. "Hello Nurse Joy, I would like to heal my Pokemon and register for the Indigo Conference." Ash said with a smile.

"Very well young man, if you would give me your Pokedex, I may register you."

Nodding, Ash took out his Pokedex and handed it to her. She took the Pokedex and inserted it into a slot. A few moments later, she pulled it out and returned it to him. "Now, you're all ready for the Indigo Conference. Now I'll take your pokemon to be healed" Handing her Bulbasaur's Pokeball, Ash looked at the clock that was hung on the wall.

 _"I promised I'd call mom as soon as I reached Viridian, better do it now"_ he thought to himself. Heading over to the nearest Videophone, he dialed the number and waited. A few seconds later, His mothers face appeared on the screen.

"Hi Ashy, how was your journey to Viridian?" His mother asked with a smile. "It was ok mom, I had a few battles" He replied. "Did you catch any pokemon?" He gave a frown and said "No mom I didn't, a trainer told me there was a flock of angry Spearow on the loose. So, I thought I would head to Viridian quickly and catch a pokemon tomorrow."

His mother gave him an astonished look and moisture started settling near her eyes "Ashy, I'm so proud of you, you made a really wise choice. You'll end up being a wonderful trainer. But please, be careful okay sweetie?" She said in a pleading voice.

"You know me mom, I'm always careful." Ash said with a laugh.

"Trainer Ash Ketchum please report to the reception, your pokemon have been healed." Nurse Joy's voice came from the speaker on the wall.

"Okay mom, I have to go get Bulbasaur and have dinner, I'm starving. We've got a big day tomorrow. Good night mom, I'll call you soon, I promise. "Ash said with a smile

"Ok Ashy, Good night. Remember what I told you and don't forget to change your underwear." She said cutting the line with a laugh.

Ash walked over to the reception and waited for Nurse Joy to give him Bulbasaur's pokeball. "Here you go Ash, Bulbasaur is fully healed. " She said warmly.

Thanks Nurse Joy, could I also have a room for the night? He asked

"Ok Ash" She said handing him a key. "Your room is 13 A. Also Ash, don't worry about the payment; it's free for all trainers who register for the regional league and is taken care of by the Pokemon League Committee."

Ash nodded and received the key and headed off to his room He entered and closed the door behind him. He let out Bulbasaur from his pokeball.

And in an instant, Bulbasaur was beside him. "Hey Saur, You feel okay?" Ash asked. The Bulbasaur nodded his head and turned his head to scan the room he was in. "We're at the Pokemon Centre, Saur. We're staying the night here. You hungry bud? "

Seeing His starter nod, He decided to help himself to a bottle of water and the sandwiches which his mother made in plenty.

Placing a bowl of Pokemon food in front of Bulbasaur, who eyed it dangerously before he began gobbling it up. "Eat up Saur; we have a big day tomorrow. We have to train and get new team mates" Ash said finishing his meal and jumping into bed, which was surprisingly comfy, ready for sleep.

"Hey, Saur" Ash's declared, lying flat on the bed "With you by my side, we'll conquer the Pokemon League. Bulbasaur stopped eating his meal and looked up to his trainer and let out a growl in agreement.

After finishing his meal Bulbasaur joined him, using his vines to support himself onto the bed. Finding an empty spot near Ash, He curled up near his trainer. "Good night buddy" Said Ash with a yawn. Bulbasaur gave a small happy croak in return. Soon enough both trainer and starter were asleep, tired after their long day.


	2. Viridian Trials

Ash yawned as he sat up on the bed. He noticed that Bulbasaur had woken up and was settled near the window. Bulbasaur was eyeing his trainer and was repeatedly pointing one of his vines towards the packet of pokemon food which he kept close to the bed.

He gave a laugh and got out of bed. After laying out Bulbasaur's food, he grabbed his tooth brush, ready to start the day.

After having had a big breakfast from the Pokemon Centre's cafeteria, Ash decided that it was time to train and catch a few new pokemon. "Hey Saur," Ash called out, walking toward the door with Bulbasaur by his side. "Why don't we go train for a bit and then go catch some new friends?"

"Saur Bulbasaur," Bulbasaur growled in agreement.

"It's settled then. Let's go bud," Ash said, opening the door of the Pokemon Centre and heading out.

XxXxXxX

Arriving at the training ground behind the Pokemon Centre, Ash noticed a few other trainers in the field. He went to a side which was unoccupied and began looking through his pokedex for any possible moves that the bulbasaur line could learn. "Okay Saur, I think you have enough attacking moves for now. Why don't we work on some status moves?"

Bulbasaur nodded his head and let his trainer continue. "It says here that you can learn Sleep Powder and Poison Powder" Ash said him showing the pokedex.

"They moves aren't that difficult," he continued "They are done with the help of the powders which are constantly being created in your bulb. When the right combination of powders comes together, it results in the formation of a new powder of a particular color, so you'll know if you got the move down."

Seeing the look on Bulbasaur's face, Ash knew that verbal instructions weren't enough. Scrolling through the pokedex for advice, he came across a video of a few pokemon using Sleep Powder.

He knelt towards Bulbasaur and showed him the pokedex. "Here's a video of another Bulbasaur doing it," he said to his starter. Saur watched as the other Bulbasaur released a bright sparkling blue powder from its bulb onto a charging Ponyta. The powder came in contact with the Ponyta and surely enough, within a few moments it fell asleep"

Ash got back up and his feet and closed the pokedex. Looking at his starter, he asked "Well buddy, you think we can try and get it before lunch? "

"Bulba bulbasaur," he cried out in agreement. For the next hour, Bulbasaur worked hard in his endeavor. Unknowingly with this method, he learned Poison Powder. When he showed it to his trainer, Ash was ecstatic and promised him oran berries which he found near the training field if he could learn Sleep Powder too before lunch.

The congratulations and promise of berries encouraged him to learn the move quickly. He swiftly set out and began mixing powders in his bulb as fast as he could. Within half an hour, Bulbasaur was before Ash.

"Really buddy?" He asked excitedly. "You learned it this quick? Well show it to me then" Nodding his head, Saur began mixing the required powders in his bulb. Surely enough, he released a sparkling blue powder from his bulb towards a rock near the field.

"Yeeess! Great job Saur, "Ash cried out in joy. "I think you deserve a reward." Taking out a few Oran berries and handing them over to his starter which Bulbasaur accepted graciously with a vine and quickly started gobbling them up.

Having finished his share of the blue berries, he looked at him his trainer in an attempt to get more.

"Not now Saur, I'll give you some more after lunch," Ash said with a laugh. "Now, why don't we rest for a bit, bud ?"

Bulbasaur nodded before finding a small patch of grass. He relaxed, and began to absorb sunlight through his bulb.

This process helped him regain his energy through photosynthesis, which took place inside his bulb.

After Ash felt his starter was well rested, he called out. "Saur, let's go explore the city till lunch, and find some new team mates after that?" Bulbasaur, now fully rested, let out a growl in agreement and together headed out to the city.

XxXxXxX

Viridian was one of the first cities to be built in Kanto. It was initially the main centre of trade in the olden times, where the generals and other important members of the Imperial Kanto Army lived. Food and minerals from the neighboring towns were brought into the city from where they would be exported to the other towns and cities of Kanto.

Although with the tide of time, Saffron has newly emerged as the new centre of trade in the last few years, Viridian still remains an important city, housing important buildings and also the strongest gym leader of Kanto, Giovanni.

Breaking himself from his thoughts on the city, he continued his exploration of the city. He had gone to the Pokemart and bought items he felt was needed for their journey through Viridian Forest, such as Potions, Antidotes and a few Full Heal. After finishing his shopping, he noticed it was nearly lunch time and decided to go back to the Pokemon Centre. As he was returning back, he saw a lady walking down the road carrying a lot of bags. Feeling sorry for her, Ash recalled Bulbasaur and went to her side.

"Hey ma'am, do you want help with the bags?" he asked.

The woman, exhausted from the work gave a breath of relief. "Thank you so much sonny, I could use a hand," She said handing Ash a few bags. "My bakery is just down the road, so follow me."

"Ok ma'am, I'll follow your lead," replied Ash with a smile.

They reached the bakery and lady took out a key from her pocket and unlocked the door. "You can put them on any of the tables" she said placing the bags on a table near. Ash placed them on the table and was about to leave the bakery. "Hey boyo, where do think you're going?" The lady asked noticing Ash leave.

"I was about to go have lunch ma'am," Ash replied not wanting to intrude on her.

Sitting on one of the chairs in the bakery, she continued "None of the ma'am stuff anymore. My name is Audrey; what's your name son?"

"My name's Ash Ketchum" He said "It's a pleasure to meet you,"

"Say boyo, I was about to go for lunch too. Why don't you say we go have it together?" The baker asked warmly.

"I don't want to impose on you Audrey," Ash said leaning on a table.

"Nonsense son, you did help me out so, we'll call it even. Don't you say so?" Audrey asked with a laugh.

XxXxXxX

After Audrey closed her shop, they went to a restaurant called 'Viridian Leaf'. Luckily, the restaurant also sold Pokemon food. He called out bulbasaur and placed a bowl of food with a few oran berries and sat down to eat.

During their lunch, Ash learned that Audrey was a trainer before she retired to continue the bakery, which was in her family for decades.

After finishing their lunch, Ash decided to walk Audrey to her bakery. Just as they reached the bakery, a pokemon emerged from a bush nearby and looked frantic. Pulling out his pokedex, he scanned the pokemon.

 _Trapinch, the Ant Pit Pokémon. Trapinch dig cone-shaped holes in desert areas. Its large and powerful jaws are capable of crushing stones._

"Whoa, a Trapinch!" Ash exclaimed.

The Trapinch continued to move its head erratically. "What's it doing?" Ash asked confused with the behavior.

"Well Ash, I think it's asking for help, "Audrey said after a few moments "I think it was us to follow it"

They began following the Trapinch, who dug a path underground to move faster. After moving away from the city and into the forests surrounding Viridian, Trapinch came to a stop near a clearing. It came back up to the surface and pointed one of its tiny legs to a section of the trees.

"Oh no," Audrey cried out. Before them were a large number of trapinch and even some Vibrava in a net unable to escape.

"So, this is why you called us, to help your friends escape," Ash said looking at Trapinch, to which it nodded its head in reply.

Turning his head to Audrey, he said "We have to help them. Who knows what might happen to them if we don't?"

"We will Ash, but first we gotta call Officer Jenny," she said. "This is no doubt the work of some poacher.

Taking out her cell phone from her bag, she dialed the number of the Police Department.

"Hello, Officer Jenny. We have an emergency. A friend and I have found a swarm of Pokemon caught in some sort of containment net. We're at the forests near the eastern side of the city. Please send help quickly. Yes, Officer, we'll take precaution"

"Well well well…. What do we have here?" an unknown voice called out. They turned to see a man dressed in some sort of uniform.

"How did you find this place?" He glared, voice full of anger. It was only then he noticed a trapinch next to them.

"I see" he said aloud. "Now that you've discovered my little operation, I can't let you live. You're lucky I only have this one with me right now," Grabbing a pokeball from his belt, he called out "Magcargo, deal with them."

From the second it materialized next to its trainer, Ash knew that they were done for. Multiple scars lined its shell and the air around them started warming up the air with its intense heat, it generated. The Magcargo then let out a screech as it readied itself for battle.

Their only hope was to stall for time until help came. Grabbing a pokeball, Audrey released it. Turning to Ash, she said "I'm afraid there's nothing you can do for the battle right now, Ash."

He looked at the ground, angry at himself for being unable to do anything. However, he agreed with her and stepped back so that she could battle without any worries.

"Don't worry Ash, why don't you let me and Dewgong handle it?" She asked him warmly.

"Magcargo, use Flamethrower and fry it," said the poacher with distaste. Magcargo nodded it head, released a stream of fire towards its foe

"Dewgong, counter with Water Pulse." Audrey screamed out. The Dewgong formed a ball of blue energy and released it towards the fire type.

Both the attacks made contact and resulted in a large explosion of steam. Noticing this, the poacher cried out "Magcargo, enough playtime. Put more power into it, now."

The Magcargo hearing the command began releasing flames of greater intensity. The stream hit Dewgong head on. The force of the flames pushed it a few meters back. After it regained its footing, Ash let out a gasp at the condition Dewgong was in. Parts of its fur were burned in multiple places and skin was charred and darkened where it took the brunt of the damage.

"Can you go on Dewgong?" Audrey asked with concern. It nodded its head weakly.

"Enough. finish this Magcargo. Use Stone Edge," Magcargo's body became surrounded in white and multiple rocks began arose next to its body from the ground. It then fired them at Dewgong who was thrown back by the impact.

"No, Dewgong" Audrey cried out. Dewgong's body was bleeding from many angles and twisted at certain positions.

"Now, that the nuisance is dealt with. Magcargo, end them with Fire Blast," the poacher commanded.

" _Mom, I'm sorry. I should have been more careful. Now it's over for me"_ Ash thought sadly, tears freely flowing down his face.

Suddenly, Magcargo started being sucked in towards a large hole that was created in the ground. "What's happening now?" the poacher asked angrily. Looking into the hole, he let out a scream.

"Aaahh! It's that blasted Trapinch. Magcargo, hit it with Flamethrower," the poacher called out. Magcargo turned its head and released a flame towards the Trapinch. Smoke erupted from the hole and the suction stopped and Magcargo was able to move again.

"Now, no more interruptions," the poacher said darkly. "Finish them with Fire blast. "Magcargo took a deep breath and released a powerful stream of fire. As it continued to get closer, it changed shape and took the form of a kanji.

Awaiting doom, Ash closed his eyes, with tears still flowing. He wished for another chance to train Bulbasaur, to make fun of Gary, to see his dear mother again..

"Nidoqueen, block it with Stone Edge," a voice called out. Ash opened his eyes to see a large rock conjured in a few feet in front of him. The Fire Blast had struck the rock but couldn't continue past it.

" _Thank Arceus above,"_ Ash thought to himself. He turned his head to see a man, dressed in black standing a few feet away. His eyes were red and full of anger. Beside him was his Nidoqueen, standing proud and regal.

"How dare you try and attack trainers in my city, vermin?" The man asked in a cold voice.

"Look buddy, I don't know who you are but enough with the big talk" the poacher said angrily.

"Enough, Nidoqueen, finish it with Earth Power." Nidoqueen's body glowed yellow and the earth near it began shaking. Golden cracks began spreading towards Magcargo. It struck and caused the ground under Magcargo to break, creating a cloud of dust.

As the dust cleared, Magcargo lay on the floor clearly unable to battle any longer. The poacher, realizing he had been caught let out a laugh. "You can throw me in prison bub, but I'll escape and I'll come for you." He snarled, glaring at the man.

"I'm sure, you will" the man said, giving a cruel laugh. After releasing a Nidoking to watch over the poacher, He approached Ash and Audrey. "I must thank you two for bringing to light the activities of this man. Officer Jenny called me and informed of this treachery" the man said with a smile.

"It was my duty as a citizen, Mr. Giovanni to help our great city against criminals like him" Audrey replied firmly.

"Why don't you leave the criminals for the professionals next time Audrey?" Giovanni asked with a laugh. She replied with a small laugh.

Turning his head towards Ash. " And who might you be?" He asked.

"My name is Ash, sir. I'm from Pallet town" Ash replied wiping the tears away from his eyes.

"You should be proud of yourself Ash," Giovanni started. "Standing up for justice is commendable, especially when fleeing away is the easier solution"

"Thank you, Mr. Giovanni Sir." Ash replied to his rescuer.

"Why don't you say, we go free those pokemon?" Giovanni asked. Ash's replied with a firm nod of his head.

"Nidoqueen, destroy the containment unit," He commanded in a calm voice. Nidoqueen carefully aimed her claws at the net and broke it apart with a swipe. The Trapinch now released from capture, began to spread out in the clearing.

Feeling a tug on his pants, Ash looked down to see a Trapinch. Recognizing it, he knelt down."Hey buddy, thanks for the save back there. We would have been goners if it weren't for you and Giovanni," he said, giving it a pat on the head.

"I think it wants to accompany you, Ash." Giovanni declared.

"Really, Trapinch?" Ash asked excitedly. "You want to join my team?" Seeing the Trapinch nod its head, Ash took out a pokeball from his belt and threw it towards the Trapinch.

The Trapinch however sent it flying back to Ash with a swipe of its head. "Hey, what gives?" Ash asked surprised. Noticing that Trapinch was standing with its legs wide apart, which he assumed was its battle stance. He asked "You want to battle before I catch you?"

The Trapinch nodded its head and Ash got up back to his feet. Ash grabbing Bulbasaur pokeball from his belt, removed it and tossed it into the air. Bulbasaur materialized next to his trainer. "Saur, we're gonna catch a new team mate. But first, we have to battle him.

Saur nodded his head and readied himself for battle. "Saur, get in close and use tackle" Ash called out. Obeying the command, Bulbasaur charged forward tucked in its head as it continued the attacked.

Just before the attack could it, Trapinch sidestepped the attack and opened it jaws and clamped one of Bulbasaur hind legs with a massive bite. "Bulbasaur, vine whip barrage" Ash screamed out.

Ignoring the pain he was in, Bulbasaur began assaulting Trapinch with a flurry of vines until it was forced to let go of Bulbasaur's leg. Trapinch then let out a cry and went underground.

"Great!" He exclaimed. "It knows Dig too". Bulbasaur began looking around frantically with his vines in the air, ready to smack Trapinch away if it came near him. "Calm down Bulbasaur, we don't know where it'll attack." Ash said consoling his starter. "We've got to wear it down first. Prepare Poison Powder."

Trapinch emerged from the ground behind Bulbasaur and opened its jaws for another bite attack. "Saur, use poison powder and aim it behind you." Ash commanded.

The Poison Powder hit trapinch before it could launch its attack. The flow of poison caused it to stagger in its movements for a few mere moments. But that was more than enough for Ash and Bulbasaur. "Bulbasaur, its weakened now, finish it off with Tackle." Ash called out.

Bulbasaur tucked in its head and rammed into trapinch. The blow knocked out any fight left in Trapinch. After much struggle, it got back up on its feet and nodded its head to Ash.

Ash taking an empty pokeball from his belt, threw it towards Trapinch. As it made contact, Trapinch got sucked inside is a stream of red light. The pokeball rolled thrice and remained still signifying that the capture was a success. He took out an antidote from his backpack. Releasing Trapinch, he gave a pat on its head and fed him the antidote. "Glad you're in our team now Trapinch. I'll help you evolve into a mighty Flygon one day." Ash said with a smile. The Trapinch, looking up at Ash gave him a wide smile in return.

"Intersesting" Giovanni thought, watching the events play out before his eyes. He coughed behind them to get their attention. "Well done Ash. That Trapinch, I have a feeling he'll end up being one of your strongest. Now that it's over, why don't you say we head back to the city now?" he asked with a smile.

"Okay sir, let's go." Ash said with his two pokemon began following their trainer.

XxXxXxX

They arrived at his room in the Pokemon Centre a little late. Giovanni guided them out the forest and left them to do a few errands, or so he said. Ash and Audrey had to walk back to the city themselves.

After parting ways at her bakery, Ash decided to back to his room in the Pokemon Centre. Ash tired after a hard day, closed the door and sat on the bed. He pulled out his pokedex and scanned Trapinch who was playing with Bulbasaur by the bed.

 _Trapinch, the Ant Pit Pokémon. Trapinch dig cone-shaped holes in desert areas. Its large and powerful jaws are capable of crushing stones._

 _This Trapinch is Male and has the ability Hyper Cutter, which prevents_ _other Pokémon from lowering the_ _attack_ _power_ _of the Pokémon with this Ability._

 _This Pokemon knows the following moves: Bite, Sand Tomb, Dig and Bide_

"You sure are a strong one Trapinch," Ash said with a smile. He gave a laugh noticing Trapinch raise its head with pride. Would you like a nickname, bud?" He asked.

The Trapinch nodded its head. "How about Ajax?" Ash continued.

"Tra Trapinch" cried out his newest pokemon in glee.

Alright guys, why don't you say we have dinner and call it a night?" Ash asked his pokemon gently. Trapinch let out a yawn and nodded its head. His newest buddy Bulbasaur shook his head in agreement.

"All right then," Ash said taking the pokemon food out of his bag."Dinner is served." Laying the food down in piles, he let out a laugh seeing both of them gobbling up their dinner.

After he had dinner from the Cafeteria, he lay in bed, his pokemon beside him already asleep. He thought back at the day's events. He was extremely outmatched by the poacher and it was luck, in the form of Giovanni, which had saved him.

While lying on the bed, waiting for sleep to claim him, Ash made a decision. If a day like this were to ever happen again, he shouldn't have to rely on luck to escape. As he closed his eyes, He decided that he and his team would get stronger, to overcome any and all challenges they would face.

XxXxXxX

Giovanni entered a alley with a scowl on his face. He entered a shady bar and immediately went to the back. A bouncer stopped him from going any further. "Hey buddy, beyond this is restricted area" He said glaring a Giovanni. Before Giovanni could lash out, another bouncer came and said "You idiot, that's the boss. You better beg and ask for forgiveness."

The bouncer turned to Giovanni and apologized and let him pass through. Giovanni continued and reached a door. Pulling the handle, he opened it and walked inside. The room was large and had a receptionist in the centre.

"Get me Agent Dahlia" Giovanni said impatiently.

"Right away, Sir" replied the receptionist.

He turned to the screen on the wall as a picture of a blond lady appeared on it. "Lord Giovanni, how may I serve you?" the blonde asked kneeling in front of him.

"Domino, you will be given an easy assignment today. I'll give you the brief details. The Police Department has managed to capture a poacher whom we hired. Ensure that he does not talk again." Giovanni let out with a sneer.

"As you wish, Lord Giovanni" the girl replied in a clear tone.

"That is all" He remarked. He turned his head to receptionist and nodded his head. She gave a reply of "Yes Sir" and ended the call.

As Giovanni walked out of the bar, his thoughts kept going back to the boy who foiled his plans. He had captured the Trapinch with a sound strategy despite it being his first capture. He could have been looking at a powerful trainer down the line. The boy seemed to have the potential to be a powerful executive of Team Rocket.

"In a few years, I'll contact him with an offer he can't refuse," thought Giovanni darkly as he walked down the lonely streets of Viridian.

XxXxXxX


	3. Onto Pewter

Ash left the Pokemon Centre after finishing his breakfast, which was the last of his mother's sandwiches. He returned his room key and thanked Nurse Joy for her help. His pokemon were walking beside him as they continued down Viridian City.

He decided to visit Audrey before leaving the city. He walked towards the eastern side of the city and soon found her store. Pushing the door open, he entered and waved his hand. "Hi Audrey," he said happily.

"Hi Ash," she grinned. "Let me guess, you headin for Pewter today?"

"Yes I am Audrey, I decided it's time I challenged the Pewter Gym" he said with a smile.

"Well then Ash, I wish you the best," she said giving her widest smile. "I'll be watching you at the conference" She pulled a bag out from under the counter and handed it to him. "For you and your pokemon,"

"Thanks Audrey" he said accepting the confectioneries happily. "I'll do my best and hopefully you'll see me with a winner's medal."

"Sure kiddo. Now come here," she said pulling him into a hug which he returned it happily.

"I'll definitely visit you when I come Viridian again Audrey," he said as he opened the door to leave, waving good bye.

"You better boyo," she said waving back.

XxXxXxX

He finally left the City after an hour of walking and reached the gate leading to Viridian Forest. He barely crossed over a patch of tall grass when he heard a trainer call out.

"Hey. I challenge you to a battle," he said, facing Ash.

"All right then, I accept your challenge," Ash said. He noticed that the other trainer had a Pikachu riding on his shoulder. "

"Ajax, battle stance," Ash called out as Trapinch emerged out from his pokeball. He stood by his trainer, awaiting his command. "Alright then, your turn"

"All right Happy, I choose you." The trainer called out tossing a pokeball from his belt. A Butterfree emerged. "She just evolved yesterday and I want her to get used to her new form."

"Sure, you can have the first move" Ash replied.

"Happy, use String Shot" the trainer cried out. The Butterfree released a line of fine threads towards Trapinch intending to slow his movement.

"Ajax, Dig to evade and use Bite to attack once you emerge." Trapinch nodded before launching itself into the ground.

Butterfree looked around in confusion, not knowing what to do. "Happy, be on guard. He can come up from anywhere."

Suddenly, Trapinch emerged from the ground in a massive leap and stuck its jaws on Butterfree's wing. The damage caused and weight of Trapinch's body caused the Butterfree to fall from the air into the forest floor.

"Finish it with Sand Tomb" Ash said calmly. Trapinch nodded and struck one of its legs to the ground. A hole emerged sucking in Butterfree towards it." The sand began rising and soon turned into a cyclone of dust and soon, everything inside the cyclone became hidden by the sand in the air. After the attack ended, Butterfree was on the ground covered in a pile of sand unable to continue.

"No way, how could I lose?" The trainer cried out. "I trained Happy everyday till she evolved." Despite the loss, he held out his hand towards Ash. "Good battle, your Trapinch is very strong"

"Thanks, so is your Butterfree." Ash smiled as he patted Trapinch's head. "Trapinch's jaws are so strong that a single Bite attack would leave most pokemon unable to continue battling." Ash said, with a smile.

"Oh wait. I totally forgot to give you your prize money for winning." The trainer said with an awkwardly laugh.

The system of prize money was introduced by the Pokemon League to promote battling among trainers. It provided incentive to head out and have more battles which earned the winner a small sum from every battle won. The League also stated that the losing trainer did not have to pay if he has an amount less than 1000 Pokedollars in his account.

He took out his wallet and opened it. He then brought his palm to his face as his face flushed red. "I'm sorry man, I only have 800 Pokedollars right now," he said sheepishly.

"It's alright," Ash said with a laugh."It was a good battle." Recalling Trapinch, he turned to the other trainer and smiled "I'm Ash."

"I'm Ritchie," the other trainer replied. "This is my starter Pikachu" rubbing Pikachu under the chin to which Pikachu let out sounds of joy. "So, how long do you think it'll take to cross the forest?"

"I'm not sure," Ash said scratching his head. "I guess it would take about a day or two"

"Well then, why don't we go together?" Ritchie asked. "We'll have more rations that way and can have each other's back."

"Sure Ritchie," Ash replied. "Why don't we get started right away?" With that, they both entered the forest.

XxXxXxX

Viridian Forest got its name for being the deep and sprawling woodland reaching to Pewter City in the north and to Viridian City in the south. The trees in the area have been said to have grown so dense that light has trouble getting through.

The path across to each terminus, winds its way around the dense layers of trees, creating a giant labyrinth, as many people got lost inside. The trees stood tall and the grass appeared to be long and unmaintained, while trees in the distance remained shadowed.

Because of its dark and shady environment, Viridian Forest hosts a large array of different Bug-type Pokémon. Bug Catchers who own Bug Pokémon come here in groups from all over Kanto to capture and train their pokemon.

The duo had been trudging their way along the gloomy forest for quite a few hours. They had faced quite a few trainers and won most of the battles they faced.

Deciding to take a break and have lunch, they found a clearing where a small stream was flowing. Placing their supplies on the bank of the river, they sat down and called out their pokemon. Ash tossed his pokeballs in the air and in a flash of red light; the forms of Bulbasaur and Trapinch appeared. Richie followed suit and released Butterfree and a Spearow. His Pikachu hopped his shoulder and came down to greet his team mates.

After having their share of food, they decided to rest for a while before proceeding through the forest. "Hey Ritchie, what's your goal? Ash asked.

Ritchie looked up to the sky and gave a small smile. "My dream is to be one of the Elite Four," he said ardently. Turning his head towards Ash, "What's your dream?"

"Me?" Ash smiled "I want to be the Champion of Kanto. It may take a while but that's my goal, every since I was a child. To be the greatest trainer, a Pokemon Master" Ash continued passionately.

XxXxXxX

After they were sufficiently rested, the duo continued their travel through Viridian Forest. Both trainers spent their time talking and even alternating between the occasional battles with the wild pokemon. It was in this time Ash learned that Ritchie was from Frodomar City and that his parents owned a ranch for pokemon.

"Wow! That's so cool," Ash said excitedly. "You …,"

He was interrupted by a boy who jumped onto their path from a bush. He appeared to be the same age as them but was dressed as a samurai. He held a sword in his hand and had a net on his back. He bowed his head and asked. "Greetings, are you trainers hailing from the town of Pallet?"

"Yes, I'm from Pallet Town," Ash said. "My friend here is from Frodomar City," he continued moving his arm towards Ritchie

"Well then trainer from Pallet, I am Samurai and I wish to face you in battle." the boy cried out. "I have been defeated by a few trainers from Pallet in the past and I wish to redeem myself for my failures," he continued. "Pinsir, ensure my victory." In a flash of red light a Pinsir emerged beside him. It began growling and snapping its pincers as it readied for battle.

"Alright then, let's get this battle started," Ash smirked, while scanning Pinsir on his pokedex. Removing a pokeball from his belt, he cried out "Ajax, battle stance." Once Trapinch positioned himself, Ash called out "You can have the first move,"

"Thank you trainer from Pallet, Pinsir use Vice Grip," he commanded. The Pinsir nodded its head and began rushing towards its foe.

"Use Bide and brace yourself," Ash whispered. Trapinch's body became outlined in white and he tucked in his front legs, bracing himself for the attack.

The Pinsir approached snapping his pincers and slammed them against Trapinch causing him to cry out in pain.

"Once again Pinsir, Vice Grip" its trainer ordered. The Pinsir again slammed its horns against Trapinch causing him to cry out. "Yes, my victory is certain."

"Are you sure?" Ash asked with a smile.

"Yes trainer from Pallet, there is nothing you can do to gain victory now. I have finally obtained my revenge" Samurai yelled out and began laughing maniacally.

"Weird kid," Ash muttered to Ritchie as they shared a small laugh. "Think again," Ash retorted. "Ajax, release it."

Trapinch's body glowed white as he released a white beam. The beam hit the Pinsir head on and its body flew and struck a nearby tree.

"Oh No! Pinsir, Samurai cried out. "Can you continue?" The Pinsir slowly nodded its head.

"Doesn't matter," Ash stated. "This battle's over. Ajax, Bite." Trapinch nodded and darted towards the fallen Pinsir and clamped its powerful jaws on its foe's leg. The Pinsir screamed in agony and then fell, unable to continue battling.

"Aaaah! How could I lose?" Samurai yelled out in frustration. "I was so close to victory. What dark arts did you employ?" He asked angrily.

"Can you shut up?" Ritchie spoke up. "Ash here trained his pokemon better than you have and defeated you fairly. If you can't get over your loss, get out of our way"

Staring at Ritchie for a few seconds, he soon nodded his head. "You are correct. I thought my victory was assured and overstepped my boundaries," he said.

Handing over the prize money to Ash, he continued "You are the better trainer, and deserve to win."

"Thanks Samurai," Ash said with a smile. "It was a good battle. Ritchie you wanna battle him?"

"Unfortunately, Samurai began. "Pinsir was my last pokemon capable of battling, so I have to politely decline."

"It's no problem" Ritchie said scratching his chin.

"I will train hard and should you ever decide to return, I will be awaiting your challenge." Samurai stated.

Ash laughed. "I'm looking forward to it."

XxXxXxX

"Alright guys, time to learn some new moves," Ash said to his pokemon who were beside him. The cried out happily to which he gave a small laugh. "Ok guys, I'll look for some new moves for both of you to learn."

Ritchie had willingly moved his training session elsewhere so that both parties could properly train their pokemon, a decision which Ash was thankful for. His pokemon were strong, thanks to the many battles in the forest but he did not want a trainer who he might face at the conference to know his strategies.

After some searching on his pokedex, he called both his pokemon closer. He looked at Bulbasaur and smiled. "I found a move for you bud, it's called Take Down. It's a fairly simple move. It works kind of like tackle, but you have to hit the target with greater force.

He showed Bulbasaur a video of an Eevee doing the attack. The Eevee tucked its head and began charging towards a Meowth at high speed. The Eevee then crashed into its opponent and let out a small cry because of the impact.

Once the video ended, Ash closed his pokedex. Patting Bulbasaur head, he continued "The move's only drawback is that the user may suffer a little recoil damage because of the greater force. With practice, it can be a powerful move. So, what do you think buddy? Can you learn it before dinner? If you can master it before dinner, then extra oran berries." Ash said with a smile.

Bulbasaur nodded in agreement and set to work, practicing the move on some trees. He began adjusting his body to maximize damage. He then charged towards a tree and slammed into it.

It appeared not to do much damage, but bulbasaur let out a cry in agony. Sighing, Ash took out a potion from his bag and applied it to his starter's head. "Why don't you start with smaller plants bud?" Ash asked gently, patting his starter's head.

Ash did not really notice it in Viridian Forest but now that he looked at his starter in actual sunlight, he definitely noticed the changes in him.

Bulbasaur's body was growing bigger and bigger everyday. His skin was slowly changing into a darker hue. He also noticed that Bulbasaur had been spending more time, absorbing sunlight than he usually did.

It all led to one conclusion, Bulbasaur was approaching his evolution to Ivysaur. Ash felt a surge of happiness go through him as he let out a smile.

"Bulba Bulbasaur," The Bulbasaur cried in agreement before racing towards a small plant which would be his new target.

Ash then knelt beside Trapinch and held out his pokedex. Ash played a video of a Geodude using an attack. It banged one of its fist on the ground and created a shock wave which began spreading before finally crashed into its opponent.

Closing the pokedex, Ash smiled. "This is the move I want you to learn. It's called Bulldoze; it's rather simple so it wouldn't take much time to learn it. If you can master it by the time we challenge the gym, Brock's gonna have a hard time." He said warmly.

Trapinch nodded his head and moved a few feet away, so as to not hurt his trainer or any plants nearby. He banged one of his feet on the ground but nothing happened. He looked at his trainer for advice.

Ash sighed. "For the move, you have to manipulate ground type energy to cause the shock waves."

Trapinch slowly nodded its head, trying to understand what his trainer was attempting to tell him.

"Ajax, you have to infuse the energy to your feet when you're doing the move. That's basically it buddy. I know you can do it. If you can learn the move, you get oran berries for dinner" Ash said with a smile.

He gave a small laugh as he saw Trapinch hurrying off to work on the new move.

XxXxXxX

A few hours had passed and it was almost dark, Ash was eating some of the snacks Audrey had made for him. He was interrupted from his thoughts by his starter's cry. Beside Bulbasaur was Trapinch who had a happy look on his face.

"So you guys, show me how far you've come. Saur, you try first."

Bulbasaur tucked in head and charged towards a tree. He picked up pace and slammed into the tree. The attack was well performed and caused quite a bit of damage to the tree.

"All right Saur. Looks like you learned the move." Ash said with a smile. Turning his head to over to Trapinch. "What bout you bud, show me how far you got "

Trapinch raised his fist which glowed slightly golden. He banged it to the ground, creating shock waves which spread. It went towards a rock and crashed into it destroying it.

"Great job Ajax, both of you get extra berries tonight." His statement was met with two happy cries.

Ritchie soon returned with his party and was exhausted. Both the trainers decided to have dinner and wake up early the next day. After a hearty meal with plenty of oran berries for his pokemon, Ash soon went to sleep.

XxXxXxX

Ash woke up early and set out with Ritchie. They got some training done and even had a few mock battles. Bulbasaur and Trapinch finally mastered their new moves in battles against the many trainers and wild pokemon in the forest. They had grown stronger and Ash was confident of his chances against Brock.

Ritchie however was quite tensed as all of his pokemon were at a disadvantage against Brock and was hoping to find a new pokemon which would help him against the gym leader. His pokemon too had grown strong and he was determined to beat Brock.

After wandering through the forest for two more days, the duo had finally noticed that they were nearing the end of the forest. The canopy cover of the forest was reducing and the clear blue sky was almost entirely visible again.

They could see the gate a little further away. They crossed the gate and had finally gotten through the forest in one piece. Pewter was still a few miles away but he was glad to leave the miserable forest.

XxXxXxX

Pewter City was the centre of excavation of minerals and precious stones. Since time immemorial, Pewter City had been providing minerals for the entire region of Kanto with along with Cinnabar Islands.

Pewter City housed many important buildings because of its rich past. The most famous of which included the Museum of Science and other buildings of the league. It was also the home of the Rock type leader Brock.

Ash sighed in relief and as he finally entered the city. There was quite a bit of time left for lunch and Ash decided he would heal his pokemon and request a battle after noon.

"Hey Ash," Ritchie called out. "Why don't you go on to the Pokemon Centre and I'll meet you there? I'll need an advantage to beat Brock." Pulling out a fishing rod from his backpack, he waved his hand and sat down hoping to catch a new team mate.

Ash nodded his head and began to walk towards the Pokemon Centre. He handed over his pokemon to be healed and asked for a room to stay in. He had received the key and stored his supplies in the room given. He decided to head down to the lobby and wait for his friend.

He decided to call Professor Oak while he waited. Heading towards the videophone, he dialed in the Professor's number and waited. The dark screen soon came to life and the image of Professor Oak holding a cup of coffee came to view.

"Hello there Ash!" The professor greeted with a smile. "How has your journey been so far?"

"It's been amazing Professor, I've reached Pewter city a little while ago and I learned a lot on the road," Ash replied. "The reason I called is because, I caught a Trapinch a few days back. The pokedex was a great help but..."

"I have been meaning to call you up on that, my dear boy," the Professor said with a smile. "I'm surprised you managed to catch one. Most trainers usually aren't that lucky to find one of them on the road.

The Trapinch family line is considered to be one of the most versatile in the world. Its final evolution, Flygon is an efficient battler, quite possibly due to its usage of draconian energy." He rambled on.

"How long does it generally take for the Trapinch to reach their final forms professor?" Ash asked.

The professor scratched his head. "Most pokemon usually reach their final forms within a span of 3-5 years. Most pokemon who are dragon types or evolve into dragon types take a little while longer to evolve. Trapinch behave like proper ground types prior to their evolution to Vibrava. It is from that stage they grow to be the versatile fighters they have the potential to be. Trapinch evolve into Vibrava in their first three years after birth, at the earliest. The reason for this is because the bodies of young Trapinch have to develop and be capable of controlling and using draconic energy. However the transition from Vibrava to Flygon takes place faster, usually within a year or so after the initial evolution."

Nodding his head in confirmation, Ash gave a thoughtful look. "How will I know when he's close to evolution though?"

"Ah, that should be fairly easy; its scales will begin to lose their brown shade and will sport a pale yellow color," the professor replied with a smile.

"I see." Ash grinned. Thank you so much Professor. I'll call if anything comes up. Bye Professor"

"Goodbye Ash," the Professor said warmly.

Hanging up the videophone, Ash headed to the reception. Nurse Joy smiled at him. "Ah Ash, I was just about to call you." You're pokemon are fully healed and ready to go."

"Thanks Nurse Joy," he said collecting his pokeballs and placing them on his belt.

"Hey Ash", a voice called out. He turned his head to see Ritchie running up to him, taking deep breaths. "I did it, I caught a new pokemon. It took out Ace and Happy, but Sparky managed to wear it down just enough for me to catch her.

"It took out two of your pokemon?" Ash asked seriously. "What did you even catch?"

"Oh yeah" Ritchie replied pulling out a pokeball from his belt. "Ash, meet my newest capture."

Ritchie tossed the pokeball into the air and in a stream of red light, a Tentacool appeared beside him. "Hey buddy," Ritchie said rubbing its head. "Lily sure is a tough one. With her there's no way I'd lose."

"Okay then. Let's challenge the gym after lunch," Ash said with a smile.

"All right Ash, lead the way." Ritchie laughed and began following Ash to the cafeteria.

XxXxXxX

Ash and Ritchie stared at the huge structure in front of them. The building was surrounded by chunks of rocks. The roof was a dull grey and a symbol of the Pokemon League was displayed.

"You wanna battle first Ash?" Ritchie asked nervously. "I want to find out his battle style first, if that's okay?"

"Sure Ritchie. I don't mind battling first," Ash smiled. The gym was rather plain; the walls were brown and in the center of the gym was a battlefield, covered in boulders in various places. He opened the door and walked in. Ritchie proceeded to go stairs and decided sit in the stands.

At the centre of the field stood a tall chocolate skinned boy in his early twenties, he looked up as he heard the footsteps approaching. He waved his hand. "Welcome to the Pewter Gym," he said. "I'm Brock, the Gym Leader. Are you here for the gym battle?"

"Yes, I'm Ash and I wish to challenge you for the Boulder badge," Ash replied.

Brock nodded his head. "All right," he shouted and motioned for the referee.

The referee nodded his head. "This will be a two-on two battle. Only the challenger will be able to switch pokemon. The victor will be trainer who knocks out all of the opponent's pokemon, however forfeit is allowed. Are both trainers ready ?"

Seeing both the trainers nod in agreement, the referee shouted "Trainers, release your pokemon!"

Ash took a pokeball from his belt and released his first pokemon. "Ajax, battle stance." Ash said. Trapinch emerged beside him, ready to battle. Brock gave a look of surprise but said nothing.

"Geodude, time to battle," Brock tossed the pokeball up and it released the content within, a milliseconds later. Once the Geodude steadied itself, it began banging its rocky fists on the ground, ready for battle.

Ash knelt down beside Trapinch and scratched his chin. "Hey Ajax, this is our first gym battle. You have to give it your all okay ?" Ash whispered.

Seeing Trapinch nodded his head frame frantically, Ash stood up. "Okay buddy, you got this," he smiled.

The referee slashed his hand down. "Begin !"

"Ajax, start with Sand Tomb." Ash commanded. Trapinch nodded and banged his front leg on the ground. A huge hole appeared near Geodude and began sucking him in." Great ! It's trapped, get in close and use Bite."

Trapinch grunted and darted towards its foe. As soon as Trapinch got close to Geodude, "Mega Punch." Brock calmly said Geodude pulled its fist back which began glowing white. He then released it. It struck Trapinch head on and hit him with enough power to make him land several meters away.

"Good strategy," Brock smiled. "Using Sand Tomb to trap Geodude and then weakening him with Bite. Your mistake though was that you didn't account for Mega Punch,"

"Ajax, you ok ?" Ash asked. Trapinch nodded and got back on his feet.

"Geodude, use Rock Throw." Brock commanded. The Geodude punched his fist on the ground and rocks emerged from the earth and began flying towards Trapinch.

"Ajax, evade with Dig" Ash commanded. Trapinch began clawing his way underground and easily escaped its foe's attack.

"Geodude, stay alert, it can pop out anywhere." Brock said eyeing the battlefield.

"Trap it once again, use Sand Tomb." Ash yelled.

A huge hole appeared underneath Geodude and began sinking it in. At the lowest point was Trapinch, commanding the sands to pull his for towards him.

"Geodude, Mega Punch it again," Brock screamed out. Geodude grunted and pulled his glowing fist back.

"Ajax, use Bite on its fist." Ash smirked.

"Geodude, no ! Cancel the attack." Brock yelled desperately. It was in vain as Geodude already motioned it's fist forward, Trapinch lay waiting and clamped it's fist with his powerful jaws.

"Now end this with Bulldoze," Ash commanded. Trapinch nodded and banged his fist which began glowing golden, on the ground. Shockwaves began spreading towards Geodude. It hit Geodude head on. As the dust cleared, Geodude was on the ground, unable to battle any longer.

Geodude is unable to continue, this round goes to the challenger.

"Well done," Brock began. "You had a sound strategy and didn't hesitate to improvise in a difficult situation. My second pokémon will be a bit more difficult to beat. Onix, I need your help."

Brock tossed a pokéball high into the air which snapped open and released a red stream which took the form of a giant living chain of rocks. Once it positioned itself, it let out a massive roar across the battlefield. Ash's watched on as the roar rattled the glass panels in the gym.

"I don't use Onix much, he's too strong to use against most trainers," Brock revealed. "But I think you're strong enough to face him."

"Ajax, you ready for another round ?" Ash asked. Trapinch nodded his head repeatedly in agreement. "Okay buddy, you can face him." Ash laughed.

The referee slashed his hand. "Begin!"

"Onix use Rock Tomb," Onix let out a roar and several boulders rose from the earth and appeared above Trapinch. "Drop them." Onix let out another roar as the rocks descended.

"Use Dig" Ash called out. Trapinch began clawing the earth and quickly entered underground and escaped the falling rocks.

"Onix, keep it guessing. Use Rock Polish." Onix body began sparking in blue light. When the light faded, Onix began moving across the field much faster than before.

"Ajax, shift the earth under it. Make it lose balance." Trapinch began causing small holes all around Onix. Onix gruntedas it couldn't maintain its balance.

"Onix, move away and prepare to use Iron Tail." Brock smiled. Onix moved away and raised its tail, which now shone in a metallic shade. Soon, the earth began shifting near Onix.

"Onix, strike in front of you." Brock ordered Onix, quickly struck the earth in front of him. Trapinch's body rose into the air along with several rocks. Trapinch moved it's arms helplessly in the air and cried out

"No, Ajax!" Ash screamed.

"Now, use Bind once it hits the floor." Brock said calmly.

A few seconds later, Trapinch's body struck the earth causing a small cloud of sand to the dust cleared, Onix moved towards its opponent and wrapped its tail around its petite body, crushing it.

Trapinch began crying out in pain because of the pain it was in. "Trapinch, if you can hear me, use Bite on its tail." Ash yelled desperately. Trapinch cried out in pain once again, but sunk it's jaws onto Onix's tail. Onix roared in pain and released his foe.

"Good job, buddy. Can you continue ?" Ash asked once Trapinch returned to his side. Trapinch slowly moved it head but fell over to a side because of the pain. "Its okay buddy, you can rest now. Saur will take care of the rest." Ash assured his pokemon.

Taking out Trapinch's pokeball and recalling him, Ash sighed. He released his starter and knelt down. "Its all on you bud. Ajax took down one Pokémon, and dealt some damage to the second."

Ash nodded to the referee. The referee slashed his arm for the last time for the battle. "Begin!"

"Saur, get in close and use Tackle." Bulbasaur tucked it's head and began darting towards Onix.

"Close combat is ineffective against me, Ash" Brock grinned. "Onix, use Bind. End this." Onix wrapped it's tail around Bulbasaur and began crushing it.

"Bulbasaur use Poison Powder," Ash smirked. Bulbasaur quickly released a stream of purple powder towards Onix's face.

"Oh no!" Brock cried out as Onix let out a roar, feeling it's body weakening by the second.

"Bulbasaur, it's in shock. Smack it with Vine Whip to escape." Bulbasaur began slamming Onix's rocky body repeatedly with its vines forcing it to let it's opponent go free.

"Onix, don't waste time. Iron Tail before the poison get you." Onix's tail glowed in a metallic shade ready to strike it's foe.

Just as Onix's tail was about to strike, Ash called out. "Vine Whip on the ground, raise yourself into the air." Without question, Bulbasaur struck the earth beneath it with his vines as he rose into the air as Onix's Iron Tail struck the empty field.

"Now, use Leaf Storm !" Ash commanded as Bulbasaur glowed green before he began releasing a flurry of leaves from his bulb. They hit Onix who could do nothing but bear the brunt of damage as his tail was still firmly in the ground.

After the attack ended, Bulbasaur landed gracefully using his vines as support. Onix's body too fell as it could not maintain balance against the onslaught it received. It fell and caused a large column of dust to rise up.

As the smoke cleared, Onix lay before them unable to move.

"Onix is unable to battle, victory goes to the challenger." The referee said in a monotone voice.

Brock recalled Onix and pocketed it's pokeball. He walked towards Ash and had a smile on his face. "It was a good battle," he began. "You're a great trainer. Its obvious that you and your pokémon have a strong bond and you use sound strategies as well."

He pulled out a badge from his pocket and handed it to Ash. "Here's the Boulder Badge. It signifies that you beat the Pewter City Gym."

He called for the referee, who brought with him a CD like object. "It's a TM, short for Technical Machine. You can use it for teaching your pokémon moves they normally can't learn on their own. It's reusable, so you don't have to save it for a later date."

Handing the TM over, Brock grinned. "This TM contains Rock Tomb. I'll let you figure out how to use it to it's full potential. Who knows, you might use it better than I do ? Be careful with the disc, it is quite fragile, so I suggest you buy a TM case. It's available at the Pokemart here."

"Wow!" Ash exclaimed. "Thanks a lot Brock. I'll do my best."

"There's 17 months before the conference starts." Brock smiled . "You have potential kid, don't let it go to waste." He came close and shook hands with Ash. "I wish you luck on your journey ahead. Feel free to come by for a battle anytime. Goodbye."

"I will. Thanks again Brock and goodbye." Ash said with a smile.

XxXxXxX

"Oh man, it sucked that Brock asked me to come back after two hours." Ritchie sulked.

"Its okay Ritchie, it's just a few hours." Ash laughed. "I'm going to the Pokémart, you coming ?"

"Nah Ash, I have to plan my strategy. You go ahead." Ritchie replied to which Ash gave a small laugh. He waved to Ritchie who proceeded towards the Pokémon Centre to strategize.

Ash was grinning the entire time as he walked towards the Pokémart. His first gym battle and he had won. _"It's not over, in fact it's only just begun. I'll do my best and with my pokemon by my side, there's no way I'll lose."_ He thought as he he walked down the busy Pewter road.

XxXxXxX

 **AN : Sorry for the wait guys. Hope you enjoyed the chapter !**


	4. The Treacherous Mountain

Ash stood at the edge of the railing by the stands in the Pewter Gym, his eyes focused on the battle that was taking place below him. To his left, stood Brock standing tall and calm in the field, analyzing the battle.

Beside him was a Rhyhorn, stomping the ground under it. It let out a roar to its opponent, Pikachu who was weary from its first battle against Brock's Nosepass, whom it defeated with some difficulty.

Rhyhorn began charging and struck Pikachu, who was too tired to dodge and flung him into the air. Pikachu hit the earth and was unable to continue.

"Thank you so much Sparky, you did your best," he said recalling his starter.

"Challenger, please call out your next pokemon," the referee called out.

Ritchie stared at the him blankly for a few seconds. He soon nodded his head and grabbed a pokéball from his belt. "Lily, I choose you," he said releasing his newest capture. Within seconds, the form of Tentacool appeared beside him.

Brock raised an eyebrow in surprise, but said nothing. He nodded to the referee and returned his focus to the battle.

The referee slashed his arm downwards. "Begin!"

Brock wasted no time. "Rhyhorn, get in close and use Horn Attack."The Rhyhorn roared before charging towards its opponent with its horns, ready to strike."

"Lily, use Poison Sting." Ritchie yelled. Tentacool began firing multiple purple needles towards Rhyhorn.

Brock's gaze hardened. "Don't stop, charge !" Rhyhorn roared again as the needles struck him in the face but continued his attack. He smashed his horn into Tentacool and flung it into the air.

"Oh no, Lily. Can you continue?" Ritchie asked weakly. The Tentacool slowly raised its body and let out a screech. "All right then. Lily, use Aurora Beam."

Tentacool began forming a white ball in the air. It then released a multicoloured beam, which struck Rhyhorn head on. To his surprise, Rhyhorn appeared more annoyed than hurt by the ice type move.

"Rhyhorn's armour is pretty thick, it's going to take much more than a few rainbow streams to beat him." Brock said with a smug grin on his face.

His expression quickly changed. "Rhyhorn, Fury Attack. Finish it." Rhyhorn roared once again before charging into his opponent.

When Rhyhorn was sufficiently close, Ritchie screamed out "Lily, Supersonic." Blue circles appeared in front of its face. The circles began moving and began expanding, producing a ringing sound.

"Rhyhorn get away. Do not get hit by that attack." Brock cried out. It was in vain as it hit dead on. Rhyhorn roared again as it became confused by the move, it continued charging but lost control of its body as it hit the ground.

"Lily, Water Pulse on its underbelly." Ritchie ordered. A blue ball of energy began forming on Tentacool's mouth. Once it was sufficiently charged, it was released and energy ball struck Rhyhorn who growled weakly.

"Once more," he called out. Tentacool released the attack again and this time, Rhyhorn could not continue any longer.

"Rhyhorn is unable to continue, victory goes to the challenger. "The referee said raising a green flag.

"Well well, looks like both you guys are good trainers." Brock smiled." He handed over a badge from his pocket. "It's the Boulder Badge, it signifies that you beat this gym."

"Thanks Brock," he said accepting the badge.

"Here's the TM for Rock Tomb. I'm sure you understood how useful it can be from our battle." Brock laughed as he handed over the Technical Machine.

Ash came down from the stands and congratulated his friend/rival on his victory. "It was a good battle. Nicely done, Ritchie."

Ritchie gave an awkward laugh and scratched his head as his face flushed pink.

Brock laughed at the scene before him. "What are you guys going to do now?" He asked, looking at the two trainers before him.

"I was thinking of heading to Cerulean City, through Mount Moon." Ash said. "What about you Ritchie?"

"Well, I was thinking of heading to Cerulean City too." Ritchie replied while scratching Pikachu under its chin.

"Travelling to Cerulean City is a good idea. However I advise you, Mount Moon is a difficult obstacle to overcome. It takes quite a few days to cross, so have plenty of supplies with you." Brock said

Ritchie nodded his head. "We will, Brock. Thanks again." He held out his hand, which Brock shook, followed by Ash who gave Brock a handshake as well. With their goal achieved, the duo left the gym happily.

XxXxXxX

Ash stood outside the Pokemart, having bought the necessary supplies to get through Mount Moon in one piece. He had bought plenty of potions, cure for ailments, a pocket knife, a rope and a flashlight.

"Hey Ash" Ritchie called out, running up towards him. "Let's get a move on.

After an hour of walking, they finally left the city. Even though it was a few miles away, the gigantic mountain left them astounded and shocked at the same time. Yet, it made them more determined to cross the mountain.

There were plenty of trainers on the path to the mountain. They were plenty of trainers battling and there were even a few making small talk with one another and generally having a good time.

Ritchie gulped as they neared the mountain's entrance. There was a Pokémon Center near the entrance, but they didn't stop. The few battles they had were easy ones and did not need any serious medical attention.

A few rays of light entered the mountain, which helped in visibility inside the mountain. Ritchie suppressed a scream as a Zubat flew near his head. He seemed rather uncomfortable as they entered the cave.

Mt. Moon was said to be the largest accommodation of the Zubat line in the world. Ashhad found quite a few colonies of Zubat in the few hours they were trekking through the cave.

In one such colony, they had encountered a Golbat, swarmed by Zubat. He considered catching it but chose not to as he not want to anger the colony and be attacked by the entire swarm.

As they continued onwards, they encountered a few more Pokémon that resided in caves. A group of Geodude which were trying to construct a new shelter for themselves, a few Paras darting away at the sight of a Sandshrew.

The pokemon he saw were rather meek and he felt that they were not battle, hence he avoided catching them. However there were quite a few trainers waiting for a battle. They were all beginning trainers and were quite good trainers but Ash remained victorious.

XxXxXxX

It had almost been a day, since they entered the caves and it was still as confusing as ever. As they travelled deeper into they mountain, they noticed that the Pokémon colonies had lessened. They didn't see any other trainers for a while and the caves had become rather quiet.

Sparky, who had been on Ritchie's shoulder became rather jumpy as they progressed further into the caves. Ritchie noticed this and scratched him under the chin to calm him down.

"What is it Sparky?" Ritchie asked his starter. He frowned when the electric type remained edgy. "Something's not right," he said looking at Ash.

Ash bit his lip, he was feeling quite uneasy as well. The absence of pokemon colonies usually meant that they were either in the territory of a powerful pokemon, it could also have been because of an industry which needed a particular resource from that area, and moved the pokemon away for their safety.

The former made him anxious, so he sent out Trapinch to scout the area ahead. After twenty long minutes of waiting, Trapinch finally returned. Ash knelt down and rubbed his pokemon's head.

"What did you find bud?" Ash asked with a frown. "Was it a pokémon?"

Trapinch answered by moving his head sideways which meant the negative.

"Were there people there?" Ash asked. Trapinch nodded his head and began growling angrily. Ash scratched his head. Trapinch never growled, the only time he ever saw his pokemon this angry, was when the poacher had caught his friends, back in Viridian City.

"Ajax, are there bad men ahead?" Ash asked nervously. Trapinch moved his head up and down in agreement. "Did you find any trainer's there?"Trapinch nodded his head again.

Ash stood back up and ruffled his hair. "Okay, this is what I want you to back there and free as many trainers as you can. I also want you to check if those trainers have their pokemon with them. If they do, free them and come back to me. Alos, If those bad men see you, retreat back into the ground and come here."

Trapinch nodded again before entering the ground. Ten minutes later, Ash and Ritchie heard sounds up ahead. Ritchie looked at Ash and gave him a thumbs up. "What do we do now?" Ritchie asked.

"Now, we go see what's happening ahead." Ash replied. Trapinch emerged from the ground beside him. "Good job buddy, now let's go."

They walked ahead and arrived at a crossroad, the sounds were coming from the path towards the right. They continued onwards as the path began widening. He saw a group of trainers up ahead shouting commands to their pokemon.

The trainers were currently in battle against men wearing black uniforms with a ruby 'R' on them. Team Rocket, the most nefarious criminal organization in the Kanto region.

Panic began surging all over his body. _"Ajax discovered a Rocket hideout."_ Ash thought to himself. He quickly took out his Pokédex and pressed the option for emergency call.

The call transferred to the Pewter police station and the Officer Jenny on duty answered the call. "Hello, please state your emergency?" Officer Jenny asked in a bored tone.

"Officer, I'm currently almost halfway through Mt. Moon and I found a Team Rocket hideout." Ash answered.

"This is not something to joke about kid," she replied amgrily. "Don't waste my time."Ash shook his head, and activated the scanner on his pokedex to show her the ongoing battle.

Officer Jenny let out a gasp as she saw the ongoing chaos. "Kid, I'm sending a squad of A.C.E trainers there now. Find somewhere safe to hide and wait for their arrival."

Ash nodded his head and cut the call. He put his pokedex in his back pocket and turned to Ritchie. "Come on, those trainers may need our help." Ash said.

"Didn't Officer Jenny tell us to stay away from the battle?" Ritchie asked, shaking his head.

Ash grabbed Ritchie's shoulder and shook it.

"Ritchie, what if they need our help? If you want to stay away, then fine. But I'm going out there."

"All right, I'm coming too." Ritchie groaned before walking towards Ash to the battle scene.

XxXxXxX

The trainers were currently in battle against quite a few Rocket grunts. Fortunately, most of the were beated and tied up and only a few Rockets remained in battle.

Ritchie went over to some of the injured trainers and proceeded to hand out medical supplies and food to the injured and hungry.

In the chaos, Ash was surprised to see Gary among the trainers and called out to him. Gary waved his hand in surprise, but commanded his pokemon to continue their attacks.

Gary's Charmander had evolved into a Charmeleon. It was using, what he assumed to be, concentrated bursts of Ember. Nidoran, of both species were beside the starter using Poison Sting as a ranged attack keeping the Rockets Pokémon at bay.

A Pidgeotto was in the air, striking any pokemon that got too close to it's trainer and teammates and finally a Poliwag kept shooting multiple streams of water at the various Zubat's belonging to the Rockets.

Ash ran upto Gary and hit his arm. "Ow, what did you do that for Ash ?" Gary cried out.

Ash let out a laugh. "Sorry Gare bear, I had to make sure it was you."

"So you go punch someone? Unbelievable Ashy boy. How you managed to get over here, I'll never know." Gary smirked. Gary then noticed the little body of Trapinch beside Ash.

"That was you?" Gary gasped. Ash nodded his head slightly. Gary then jumped towards Ash and hugged him. "Thanks bud, I owe you one," his voice crackled.

"It's okay Gary, you would have done the same for me," he smiled. What happened here?"

"Well, I'm not sure but it has something to do with the Moon Stone and the Rocket also set up a small station here to capture trainers and steal their pokémon, to sell them no doubt, or worse, use them as lab experiments. I was in Mount Moon for about 3 days, Team Rocket discovered me and I was one of the first to be captured."

His face turned sour as he went on. "They had an admin there who recognized me, so they didn't do much harm to us. They just tied us up. This happened 2 days ago. Most of the trainers here, lost all hope."

He looked up and Ash and smirked. "That was until that little Trapinch came in and bit off the ropes binding us. He even dug a small whole which trapped the two Rockets that were guarding us. Our pokemon were in their cabin so, we retrieved them, with Trapinch's help of course. Then we attacked the remaining Rocket's who were too shocked to give a proper battle.

Ash sighed. "Anyone else we know here?"

"Why yes there is, Ashy," replied a feminine voice. He looked up and smiled. Of course Leaf was waiting for that moment to drop in. She ran up to Ash and gave him a hug, which Ash returned happily.

Her Squirtle was a few metres away, launching bursts of Water Pulse at the charging pokemon. By its side was a Ponyta and a Mareep, sending out blasts of fire and electricity.

Ash looked at his childhood friend with a frown. "When did they capture you Leaf?"

Leaf readjusted her hat and gave Ash a small smile. "The Rockets got me yesterday. But thanks to Gary here," she said patting his head, to which he let out a whine, "they didn't hurt anyone."

Ash nodded. "Listen, I've called the Pewter Police Station and they said they were gonna send a squad of A.C.E trainers up here."

Gary's face lit up. "Good job Ashy boy. I think this is the first moment you've made me proud of you." Gary laughed.

Ash rolled his eyes, same old Gary. "How many Trainers' are here?" Ash asked

"About twenty or so trainers." Gary replied. "There were a lot more Rockets, but I guess most of them went to look for the Moon Stone. They only left about eight of them here to guard us."

A trainer came up to the trio, he nodded to Gary. "Mr Oak, the Rockets are down. All their pokemon are unable to continue battling. What should we do next Sir?"

"Thanks Josh, tie the rest up." Gary replied. "Let's go find if they are willing to talk."

XxXxXxX

About an hour later, after all trainers had eaten and their injuries taken care of, Gary joined Ash and Leaf. Ritchie was with the other trainers, providing medicine to the weakened pokemon.

"I talked to that Rocket grunt." Gary muttered. "He didn't say much, told me to get lost. He did however say that, when the admin got back, we would all be dead."

"Well, that's just great." Leaf hissed. "Now we have a crazy Rocket Admin after us. Just great." Her Squirtle rubbed it's head on her leg, to which she gave a small smile.

"Guys, we don't have a choice. If you move forward, we'll be a walking target for the Rockets." Ash said grimly." If we stay here, we have the advantage because well gave the element of surprise. We can hold them off, atleast till the A.C.E trainers get here. So what do you say?"

Gary nodded his head. "It's a good idea. Caleb, come here." Immediately, a trainer came up to Gary. "I want you to tell the others to prepare for battle. More Rockets may be arriving, so we have to be ready for an attack."

Caleb shook his head. "Yes Mr. Oak. I'll inform the others immediately." He nodded his head and ran out to inform the other trainers of the revelation.

Ash looked at Gary and laughed. "Mr. Oak ? You must have enjoyed that."

Gary rolled his eyes but didn't reply. "Well then guys, let's get ready for war."

Leaf shook her head at the antics happening in front of her. Pulling Gary by the ear, she walked forward. "Okay drama queen, let's go." She grabbed Ash's hand and pulled him. "Come on, Ashy." And so, the three trainers from Pallet Town walked side by side towards battle.

XxXxXxX

The trainers found a part of the cave to use as a front for the attacks. They shielded themselves with boulders created by a few rock type pokemon they owned. The Rocket members were tied up and were guarded by trainers who couldn't battle anymore. It was a waiting game now.

Almost half an hour later, the trainers heard voices of people talking. They soon came into view. A group of 7 Rocket's including the admin who had blue hair and had a utility belt across his waist.

The admin suddenly stopped moving as he noticed something was wrong. "What's wrong Proton Sir?" A grunt asked.

Proton's eyes turned red in anger. "Where are the trainers we captured?" He sneered. His face twisted in anger. "When I find the Rockets in charge of them, I'll feed them to my pokemon."

He tossed a pokéball into the air. "Golbat, use your echolocation to find those idiots." Golbat let out a screech as it began pinpointing its targets. It immediately flew near the trainers and let out another screech.

Gary shook his head, they had been discovered. He gave the other trainers a look. "Attack," he shouted. A multitude of elemental attacks struck Golbat, who was too shocked to move and fell to the ground.

"How dare you?" Proton snarled and tossed four pokéball into the air. "Houndour, Weeezing, Weepinbell, Raticate, finish them all." He turned to the other Rockets. "Release your pokémon, we're under attack."

"Chaarrgeee !" Ash yelled as the trainers sent their pokemon to battle. Then all hell broke loose as various pokemon were moving across both sides with such great vigour, that it was impossible to navigate towards the other side of the field.

Gary's Charmeleon kept slashing at any Zubat that got close. His other pokemon made quick work of the incoming foes. The Rockets began releasing more pokemon to counter.

Leaf's Squirtle kept releasing powerful shots of pressurised water at the rock types in Team Rocket's arsenal. Her Ponyta and Mareep combined their attacks to form streams of fireand electricity, causing huge amount of damage to the Rocket's pokemon.

Bulbasaur was beside Ash slamming his vines onto incoming Pokémon sending them flying. He was also using status ailments on weakened pokemon to ensure they wouldn't continue.

Trapinch was moving across the field trapping enemies with Sand Tomb and leaving them open for attacks. He even resorted to using Bite when faced with stronger opposition.

"Ahhh!" Proton screamed. "My promotion to an Executive, ruined by some meddlesome kids. He watched as Ash's Bulbasaur caused paralysis to a Ekans.

Anger rose through his body. He saw his Raticate crushing a wing of a trainer's Pidgey. "Raticate, leave the bird. Attack the Bulbasaur."

Raticate let out a screech and ran towards Bulbasaur. Both Ash and his starter saw the incoming Raticate and noticed Bulbasaur preparing powders in his bulb. "Saur, Vine Whip into Take Down."

Bulbasaur growled and slammed a vine towards the charging Raticate. What Bulbasaur did not expect was that Raticate would bite the vine, to stop the attack.

Raticate then yanked the vine towards him and Bulbasaur flew towards it. Bulbasaur cried as ii rose into the air. It let go of the vine and sunk it's teeth onto Bulbasaur leg.

Bulbasaur cried out in pain as the Raticate refused to let go. Ash looked around for Trapinch for help but he was nowhere to be seen.

Deciding to take matters into his own hands, he took a sharp stone from the ground. "Let go of my pokemon, you overgrown rat," he yelled as he flung the rock.

It struck the Raticate on its rib, and it let go of Bulbasaur. Its eyes turned red in anger and it let out a screech. It began charging towards Ash.

"Great, just great." Ash thought. "I have a Raticate ready to bite me to death." The Raticate edged closer and Ash lost hope.

Just as it was about to jump towards Ash, it tripped and fell. Ajax had arrived. He emerged beside Ash and let out a cry, angry that this overgrown creature had the courage to attack his trainer.

Raticate snarled and its fangs glowed white as it charged towards Trapinch. Trapinch dove underground and sunk the area under the Raticate using Sand Tomb. Trapinch the used his own Bite attack and sunk his teeth on Raticate's tail.

Bulbasaur quickly arrived and used Poison Powder weakening it further and finally knocked it out with a Take Down and a Leaf Storm.

Proton snarled as he saw his Raticate had been defeated. He tossed another pokéball in the air. A Sandslash emerged in a stream of red light. "Sandslash, kill that kid." Proton screamed pointing at Ash.

Sandslash cried before charging towards Ash. "Bulbasaur, use Take Down. Ajax, Sand Tomb." Ash called out. Sandslash screeched as it slowed because of the Sand Tomb. Bulbasaur tucked in its head and cleanly executed a Take Down pushing it away.

The Sandslash let out a roar and charged again. It curled itself into a ball and charged into Trapinch. Trapinch rose into the air and Sandslash struck him with a slash of its claws. It proceeded to use Rollout once again as it struck Ajax head on.

"No! Ajax." Ash cried out as Trapinch was flung across the field. The Sandslash turned its attention to Bulbasaur and proceeded to slash him multiple times with its claws which were glowing blue.

Bulbasaur cried out in pain as the move struck him multiple times. The last strike left him struggling to stand as the Sandslash turned his attention to Ash.

It let out a screech and curled up into to a ball. Ash braced himself for impact and closed his eyes. The attack hit him and got flung away from the impact. He hit the ground with a loud thud.

His head was dizzy and his eyes were struggling to remain open. His body felt weak and he heard voices around him. He heard a roar and a flash of white light before his eyes closed and all he saw was darkness.

XxXxXxX

His eyes snapped open and memories of the being struck by Sandslash remained fresh in his mind. He was lying on the floor and pushed himself up.

"Take it easy there," Nurse Joy said. "You've been through a lot. Ash nodded and he looked around the small tent he was in.

Through the parting of the tent, he saw that the cave had been turned into a makeshift hospital. He noticed a few other nursing aides and multiple Chansey running around administering potions and vitamins to various tents.

"Nurse Joy, can I see my pokemon ?" Ash asked, laying back down. The look of desperation on his face made Nurse Joy agree to his request.

"I'll let you see your Pokémon, however there's been a new change in events. I'll let you see for yourself." Nurse Joy replied cryptically. She got up and opened partings. "You can come in now," she said.

Two pokemon entered the tent, Ash pushed himself back up for their arrival. He noticed Ajax first. The Trapinch ran to his trainer and rested his head on his chest. Ash patted his head. "Hey bud, it's okay. I'm fine. Nurse Joy made me okay. Don't worry." Ash smiled.

After much patting and assurance from Nurse Joy that Ash would be okay, Trapinch finally got off of his trainer's chest. Ash then noticed his starter, sitting a bit further away in the dim light. "Bulbasaur had gotten bigger" he thought. His mind was probably playing tricks on him, it was definitely the medicine.

"Come here buddy," he said. Bulbasaur was hesitant but after some coaxing from his trainer he began approaching him. Ash noticed that his starter's skin had become more darker. But something was different. Instead of his green bulb was a large pink bud. Four large leaves grew around the bud in different directions.

 _"Could it be ?"_ Ash thought as a grin began to stretch across his face. "Before he fell unconscious, he remembered seeing a white flash. That white flash was Bulbasaur evolving. His starter had evolved !"

"Saur, you evolved." Ash grinned. "Great job buddy, you must be really strong now." He noticed that Bulbasaur, no Ivysaur was sitting motionless.

"What is it buddy ?" Ash asked. Ivysaur released a vine which touched Ash's ribs and then pointed it back to himself.

Nurse Joy who was watching the scene sighed. "Your Ivysaur feels it's his fault that you've gotten injured." Ash frowned and called his starter close.

He stretched his arms and put them around his starter. "No matter what happens bud, you will always be my best friend." Ash said, his voice breaking with emotion. Ivysaur began tearing up and brought his vines around Ash enveloping him in a hug. Trapinch too snugged his way in and Ash brought his arms around his two pokemon. Nurse Joy smiled and remained silent, not willing to intrude on their embrace.

She had however, insisted he stay under her care for at least a day. Gary and Leaf visited him and he also received quite a few hugs from Leaf told him what happened after he lost consciousness. Ash nodded as he heard all that happened.

They told him how watching his trainer get attacked was the incident that triggered Bulbasaur's evolution. Adrenaline kicked in and he quickly defeated the Sandslash. The A.C.E trainers arrived soon after and captured the Rockets, unfortunately Proton had escaped on a Fearow.

They kept on talking for such a long time that Nurse Joy had to kick them out to give Ash time to rest. He also received a surprise visit by an A.C.E trainer who praised him for his good work in informing the Police and wished him a speedy recovery.

XxXxXxX

"Ritchie, let's go." Ash said stretching his arms. He had been stuck inside the tent for almost a day and have body felt stiff. He had been in My Moon for over three days, and wanted to get outside as soon as possible.

Gary and Leaf had already restarted their journey. Both felt that their teams had been sufficiently healed and that it was time to get back on the road. After visiting Ash once more before leaving, they exchanged goodbye's and went their way.

Ritchie walked towards him with a pack of potions in his hands. "Nurse Joy gave them to me, she said I helped out a lot and just shoved them into my hands." Ritchie laughed.

According to the A.C.E trainers, they were halfway through the mountain. It would take another day of travel to get out to the other side. They had once again started encountering wild pokemon again.

As they were approaching the rougher areas of the mountain, wild pokemon were growing stronger. He had sent out Ivysaur to battle the eager ones. His attacks had grown much more stronger and a single Tackle was enough to finish most of wild pokemon.

However, his new evolution slowed him down, he began thinking of ways to increase his starter's speed. He decided letting Ivysaur walk beside him was a good way to used to his new body as they traversed the vast caves.

His starter had been rather quiet and it was worrying him. "What is it bud ?" Ash asked with a frown. "You still thinking bout that Sandslash ?" Ivysaur slowly nodded his head and lowered his head.

Ash shook his head. "I don't blame you bud, it wasn't your fault. That Sandslash's trainer was an admin in Team Rocket. He didn't get there by being a slouch. We'll just have to get stronger and destroy them next time before they can touch us, okay ?"

Ivysaur roared and Ash laughed. That made his starter feel better. _"He's right though. All the training we did wasn't enough. I have to train them harder, so that we don't get trounced the next time any surprises show up."_ Ash thought.

He decided he would add another member to his party once he reached Cerulean City. His team albeit strong were short in members. He would have to capture more pokemon soon.

Ritchie was alongside him, talking to Pikachu who was sitting on his shoulder. Ash nodded towards him and grinned. "Let's get to Cerulean as soon as possible. I want to win another gym badge."

Ritchie smirked. "We'll see who gets there first." He then pointed the flashlight a bit higher at the path they were on and then started running leaving Ash behind.

Ash began running after them, his starter by his side along the dimly lit path of Mount Moon, laughing all the way.

XxXxXxX

 **AN: Sorry guys, I know it been some time since i last updated. It's been a tough few months for me. College has been a pain and I've had writer's block for a while. Anyway, here I am. Hope you all liked the chapter.**


	5. Cerulean City Stories

Almost a day had passed since the Rocket attack. Ash and Ritchie were stuck in the enormous mountain. They were slowly trudging along the dirt path, eager to find the exit as soon as possible. Their path ahead slowly becoming more visible by solar rays from openings in the ceiling indicating they were nearing the mountain's exit.

The vast caves had caused quite a bit of trouble to the duo. Coming across multiple routes instilled some sense of doubt in their minds leading them taking quite a few wrong turns.

It was only with the help of the various signs located at random points, informing them that they were straying from the main route. Ash strolled on through the caves, having seen enough of them over the past few days.

Quite a few hours passed by and darkness was soon surrounding them. Streaks of moonlight could be seen on the walls of the cavern. The duo decided to stop and continue their journey the next day.

After having dinner and feeding their pokemon, they duo unrolled their sleeping bags and decided to call it a day.

XxXxXxX

Ash woke up to the cry of some Zubat. As he sat up rubbing his eyes, he noticed a few Zubat surrounding a small piece of stone, a few metres away from their sleeping bags. Curious, he went closer to observe what they were doing.

The Zubat were flying close to the stone occasionally striking it with their wing. Ash clapped lightly and the Zubat flew off having been disturbed by the loud noise. He turned back and saw Ritchie still asleep, thankful he didn't awaken his friend from his slumber.

Ash moved closer to the stone and observed it was slightly sticking out from the ground. He gave a few pulls and finally yanked it out. The stone was in the shape of a dome almost similar to a shell.

He picked it up and wiped the residual dirt from its surface. Deciding to keep it, he picked it up and placed it carefully inside an empty compartment in his backpack, wondering what it was.

A while later, he decided to wake up Ritchie and begin the day. After a few minutes, he finally managed to wake his friend. They soon had their breakfast and were finally ready to leave the mountain.

XxXxXxX

It took them a few more hours, but they finally found their way out of the mountain. Along the way, they encountered a few trainers who were easily beaten by Ivysaur, who had now gotten used to his new form.

Ash was beyond excited because his starter had evolved. It signified how far they came in the few weeks of travel. Ivysaur was now proudly walking beside his trainer with pride, which was usual among pokemon following evolution.

Ash noticed that his hide grew thicker which meant that his body could withstand more hits from opposing pokemon. Ivysaur could also use his attacks much faster than he could as a Bulbasaur but was also capable of dealing much more damage than his pre evolution.

Now that they were out of mountain, he began training his pokemon. He was taking it easy during training as they were still healing from the Rocket attack but they were determined to grow stronger. They insisted on having mock battles with each other, to improve their battling prowess. Ash allowed it but was careful and made sure his pokemon did not get seriously hurt.

The city was still a few miles away and Ash hoped to reach it before lunch time. In the meantime, he was searching through the routes hoping to find a new pokemon to capture. He came close to catching an Abra but unfortunately it teleported away. Similar luck followed as a wild Mankey escaped using Dig. Any other pokemon he found were either too young or didn't possess a fighting spirit. So, he decided he would try his luck after reaching the city.

Ritchie however was luckier, he managed to capture a Sandshrew that looked quite strong. It took out his Pikachu and Butterfree before succumbing to his Tentacool. It was surprisingly obedient and followed Pikachu around all the time. In no time, it became a member of the family.

XxXxXxX

Cerulean City was a peaceful and serene destination. In olden times, the city was a port for incoming ships from other regions with a gigantic lighthouse constructed to help the endeavour.

In the present, the city was renowned as a fishing paradise, for the number of water bodies around the city and for the great variety of water pokemon in the vicinity. The town also housed the Sensational Sisters, a trio of sisters who performed shows across the globe.

The duo had finally arrived at Cerulean City, an hour past noon. They found the Pokémon Centre and proceeded to heal their pokemon. Afterwards, the duo headed to the cafeteria where they had a hefty meal. A little while later Ash decided to call his mother, not having called her for over a week.

He walked towards the nearest videophone and dialed her number. He waited for a few moments and soon his mother's face appeared on the screen.

"It's almost been two weeks," she said stoically. Ash gave an awkward laugh and smiled, in an attempt to calm her down. He saw behind her stoic face and knew she was furious with him.

"You only started your journey 3 weeks ago and this is only the second time you're calling me. Do you know how worried I was ?" Delia glared. "I had thoughts about calling the Police, I'll have you know."

Ash scratched his head sheepishly. " Sorry mom, I got distracted with training and stuff." Ash said with a awkward smile. Delia looked at him once more before erupting into laughter. Ash smiled, knowing his mother couldn't stay angry at him for long.

"So, how was your journey so far ?" Delia asked. Now that she was no longer angry, he relaxed.

He let out a deep breath and began telling her what had happened after their initial call. He purposefully left the parts of the poacher and Team Rocket out knowing his mother would freak out and ask him to return home immediately. So, he settled upon telling her about his first capture, meeting Ritchie, winning his gym battle and more. He slightly changed the story of Bulbasaur's evolution and said that he evolved during a training session, to ease her mind.

She took in all that he said with a smile. "So what's your plan now ? Will you challenge the Cerulean Gym today or ?"

"Yea about that, I only have two pokemon mom, and one of them is weak to water type attacks, so I'll go search for a new pokemon to capture." Ash grinned. " After a few days of training, then I'll challenge the gym."

"Well then, good luck baby." Delia smiled. "I'll be rooting for you."

Ash smiled back. "I know you will mom, I'll call you soon okay. I have to ask the Professor about something."

"All right sweetie. Good bye," she said. "Don't forget to change ….."

"Bye mom," he said interrupting her. Before the screen faded, Ash saw her stuffing a laugh as the screen went blank.

He gave a breath of relief before dialing in the Professor's number. Soon, the image of the professor's lab came into view. He heard someone yelling in the background. He waited knowing the Professor was a busy man. He soon appeared wearing his favorite white coat.

"Hello Ash," he said with a wave of his hand. "Good to see you again. How has your journey been since our previous call ?"

"It's been great Professor," Ash smiled. "I'm learning a lot."

"That's wonderful Ash. That's the best part of being a trainer, you learn something new every day." Professor Oak smiled as his eyes glittered. "I'm sure you don't want to hear an old man rambling. What can I do for you ?"

Ash bit his lip, he didn't know if this was a good idea but he had to let it out. And so, he told everything to Professor Oak. About the poacher and Team Rocket, although he left out the part of him getting injured. After he was done he paused and stared at the Professor.

Oak was silent. _"Maybe he's processing what I told him,"_ Ash thought. _"Will he tell mom ?"_

"I must admit Ash, I'm proud of you for coming forward with this. Even my own grandson didn't tell me until I asked him about it." Oak laughed seeing the expression on Ash's face. "Yes my boy, I knew about this. There's little that happens without a regional professor knowing. And knowing how your mother will react, I thought it best not to tell her, don't you think ?"

Ash sighed in relief. "Thanks a bunch Professor. I really appreciate it."

Oak smiled. "Anytime Ash. Now, is there anything else you want to tell me ?"

Ash scratched his chin. "Actually there is. I found this near my sleeping bag in Mount Moon." Ash opened his back pack and pulled the strange rock out. He held it near the camera. "Do you know what this is Professor ?"

He watched as the Professor studied at the stone for a few moments. Suddenly Oak scrambled to his feet. "Extraordinary, excuse me for a moment Ash," he muttered and took off. He returned a minute later and this time he brought a new notes and pictures.

He looked as giddy as a schoolchild. "This is a great moment. Do you know what you've discovered Ash ?" he asked excitedly. "You've found something special. What you have there is a fossil of an ancient pokemon. According to a few notes of mine, you're holding onto a species called Kabuto, a rock and water type."

He showed a picture of a pokemon with a shell covering it's entire body. The shell was brown and underneath it was a dark body with 4 legs sticking out. Two red luminescent dots were present, which he assumed were it's eyes.

He picked up another picture of another shelled creature that had blue skin and held it for Ash to see. "There are the three fossil pokemon which are native to the Kanto region. Two were both aquatic species and were very powerful. The third is a flying type that terrorized the skies long ago. Lance has one on his main team but unfortunately I don't have it's picture. He said.

"Anyway if you're interested, I'll have you know that they can be brought back to life."

Ash's eyes lit up. "Really Professor ? I didn't even know you could do that. Were there any previous restorations ?" Ash asked, curious about the topic.

The Professor leaned back on a table and raised his spectacles. "We've found the first fossil fifty years ago, ever since them we've been trying to bring them back to life. Then one day, twenty years ago we finally succeeded. We brought an Omanyte back to life. It was the most amazing event at that time."

Ash was still shocked. "How could you even bring it back, I mean it was a fossil right ? Weren't there gaps in its DNA ?"

Oak smiled. "I'm glad you asked that question Ash. That was a big problem unfortunately. The scientists gathered as many fossils as they could find and succeeded in mapping out much of the genome, however there were still a few gaps. To overcome that problem, we began searching for a pokemon that lived in prehistoric times and remained the same, till this very day."

"Are there any even any pokemon like that ?" Ash asked.

Oak laughed. "Yes, there was. It took a while to find it but we did. We heard a few rumors about a new water type that was discovered in the Hoenn Region during a deep sea exploration called Relicanth. It was a pokemon that existed in ancient times and still remained the same as it did all those years ago. Once word got out, we've sent over our team so that we could borrow a Relicanth. They agreed and we used some of its DNA to fill in the gaps. It worked and we've been able to bring hundreds of fossil pokemon back to life ever since.

Hope began growing inside Ash. He nodded his head. "What do I need to do Professor ?"

"Well," the professor started. "The main restoration lab is in Cinnabar Island. That's a long way off, so let's leave that out. There is another one in Saffron City operated by Silph Co. which was recently opened. Luckily, one of the main scientists involved lives in a house in northern Cerulean. His name is Bill. I want you to go see him and tell him what you've told me. I helped him out back in the day so I'll give him a call you're coming over. I'm sure he'll help you out."

Ash relaxed. "Sure Professor, I'll set off immediately."

"Will do." Professor Oak smiled. "Now if you'll excuse me, I have some errands to run. Goodbye Ash"

All right Professor, Good bye." Ash said as the screen went blank. Deciding to go see Bill was the best choice of action, if it worked out he could have a powerful battler in his team. He went over to the reception to call Ritchie but Nurse Joy informed his that Richie had left to train his team.

With that Ash set off towards Bill's house, it was a bit far from the city and he had to ask for directions multiple times. Leading to his house was a wooden bridge overlooking a river. It was called ' the Nugget Bridge' because of a small challenge that took place occasionally.

It consisted of a trainer having to battle five trainers one after another without healing their pokemon. If a trainer could achieve that then he would be rewarded with a golden nugget. In the present, the golden nugget has been replaced by a TM because it was readily available yet the bridge continued to be called the Nugget Bridge'.

Ash entered the challenge and proceeded to easily defeat four of the five trainers as their pokemon were mainly water types.

He proceeded to the last trainer who shook his hand. "Congratulations on making it this far, but you will go no further. Ekans, snack time."

Ash had breezed through the previous four trainers using only Ivysaur. Ash felt he had fought enough to get used to his new form. So, he decided to let Trapinch have a go.

Readying his pokéball, he tossed it into the air. "Ajax, battle stance." Ash commanded as the form of his first capture materialized before him. "You can have the first move." Ash winked.

"You'll pay for that punk," the man replied. "Ekans, use Poison Sting." Ekans opened its mouth and released multiple darts that glowed purple towards Trapinch.

"Ajax, use Dig to evade." Ash said calmly. Trapinch began clawing his way underground and easily managed to avoid the incoming attack.

"Be careful Ekans, he might pop out anywhere. Be alert." The trainer stated. As soon as he finished those words, the ground under Ekans started shaking and Trapinch emerged unleashing the Ground typed attack.

"Hmmph, you got a lucky shot. Ekans use Aqua Tail. Ekans tail began glowing with a blue aura with water swirling at the tip. It began charging towards Trapinch ready to slam it's tail against it's foe.

"Ajax, Bulldoze. Destabilise the ground." Trapinch raised his fist which shone in a golden light and struck it to the floor resulting in a few shock waves which spread to the Ekans and under the ground underneath it, causing it to lose concentration and fail the attack.

"Can't you do anything right ? The opposing trainer snarled. "As soon as this battle gets over, I'm getting rid of you."

"It's not your pokemon's fault that it's trainer is stupid." Ash retorted.

"Why you little….," screamed the angered trainer. "Ekans, Poison Tail."

"Ajax, end this. Bulldoze." Ash said. Just like the previous time, Trapinch struck it's fist into the ground unleashing shock waves which struck Ekans head on. Getting hit by three consecutive attacks proved to be lethal as Ekans fell to the ground unable to continue.

"Grrr," the trainer began. "Zubat, get out here and finish this kid." He tossed a pokeball into the air. Red stream of light emerged from the pokeball and materialized into the form of a Zubat.

"All right, I'll start this time around." Ash laughed. "Time to see how far you've come with your new move Ajax. Use Sandstorm"

Trapinch let out a screech and raised his front feet. Instantly, a sandstorm began rising in the battle field. "Now use Bite." Ash ordered.

"Zubat, use your echolocation to find that Trapinch and evade," the trainer said. Zubat then stayed still and as Trapinch was closing in onto it, it evaded by flying upwards.

Ash sighed in annoyance. "Ajax, use Dig and then use Bite." Trapinch launched itself into the ground and traveled towards the Zubat. Meanwhile, the sandstorm raged on hurting Zubat who was barely flying.

Zubat was unable to locate Trapinch underground and flew around, confused. Trapinch soon emerged, it rose up and sunk it's teeth into Zubat's wing causing it to drop both onto the floor.

"Zubat, get up." The trainer yelled. Clouds of sand were repeatedly being churned up into the air. Visibility was reduced because of the raging sandstorm. Both trainers were unable to see any movement in the battle field.

"Trapinch, if you can hear me, use Sand Tomb to trap Zubat and finish it with a Bite attack." Ash called out. For a while, nothing happened. Soon the sands began receding until it eventually stopped. On one side of the filed lay the Zubat, it's body hurt by the raging sandstorm. Multiple Bite marks could be seen on it's side. Anyone could see that the Zubat was unable to continue further.

On the other side of the field was Trapinch, standing proud over his foe. He emerged relatively unscathed in his matchup, pleasing Ash greatly. The opposing trainer was shocked but said nothing as he handed over some prize money. He put his hand inside his backpack and pulled out a single TM.

He handed over the TM to Ash. "Here's the TM for Brick Break, a very useful fighting move. Also, it's the multiple use version, so you don't have to worry about which pokemon to use it on. Either way, I'm sure you'll put it to good use." He said with a wink.

"Thanks mister." Ash said accepting the reward. He pulled out his TM case, which he bought back in Pewter City and carefully placed his newly obtained item inside. He secured it inside his backpack and continued onwards. Ash however missed the crooked grin the man gave as he walked away.

XxXxXxX

Giovanni stared a giant screen while he petted his Persian when a knock came at the door. "Enter," he said as he continued staring at the screen.

A woman in her early thirties approached him. "Sir, we have a report from our primary recruiting agent. He said he found an exciting prospect for you," she said.

"Excellent." Giovanni smiled wickedly. "Get me his files immediately. That is all."

"Yes sir," she replied and quickly left the room.

XxXxXxX

There were multiple trainers on the way to Bill's house. The river flowing near the route provided the means to capture a variety of water pokemon, making it a popular spot for trainers.

Ash battled the majority of the trainers there and won them all. The extra training he provided his team seemed to be working as they appeared much stronger than before.

After a while, Ash soon walked upon a lonely house sitting near a shore. A lighthouse was visible not far away from the shore line. Ash walked up to the door and knocked. A green haired man opened the door. "Ah yes, who might you be ?" He asked with a smile.

"Hi, are you Bill ?" Ash asked cautiously. Upon seeing him nod his head, Ash held out his hand. "My name is Ash Ketchum. Professor Oak told me to find you."

Bill's eyes shone as he processed the information. He then jumped at Ash and shook his hand. He led Ash inside the house which was rather big. They headed towards Bill's lab which was the filled with the latest equipment and tools.

He lead Ash inside the room and grabbed two chairs for them to sit. "Ah yes, The professor called me a while ago to inform me of your arrival, but honestly I thought you would take a while longer." Bill said, taking a sip of coffee. "The route here isn't the easiest to travel through. You must be quite skilled."

Ash didn't know what to reply and merely laughed nervously. Bill laughed as he placed his cup of coffee on the table. "Now, Professor Oak didn't mention what you've found, just said that it would peak my interest. Let's see what you have there."

Ash nodded his head and opened his bag to withdraw the fossil. He pulled it out and held it before Bill. Bill's sat motionless. "Extraordinary," he said. "May I ?" Holding out his hand.

Ash agreed and handed the fossil over to him. Bill ran his fingers over the fossil. "You've found the fossil of a Kabuto, based on the shell structure. My lab isn't sufficient to revive the fossil but I can run a few test to measure the gaps in its DNA."

"Okay Bill, let's do it." Ash said excitedly. Bill laughed as he led Ash towards the machine. It was a fairly large piece of equipment, it consisted of multiple scanners and looked very futuristic.

"Now if you would kindly place your fossil inside the compartment." Bill said pressing multiple buttons. Ash placed it and watched as the screen lit up, producing statistics of the fossil.

After a few minutes, the process was done and Ash took the fossil. Bill slumped back on his chair and took another sip of his coffee. "I have to say Ash, you're one lucky kid. This is indeed a Kabuto fossil. You've also found one of the best fossils possible without any scientific help. That fossil you have had seventy percent of it's data intact." Bill took another sip of his coffee and waited. "I'll be in Saffron City for the next few days for a meeting at Silph. If you would give me your fossil, I could resurrect it. Meaning in a few days, you can have your own Kabuto. That is if you want to."

Ash jumped from his seat and shook Bill's hand excitedly. "Thank you soon much Bill. Of course I'd love to have one on my team." Ash grinned. He took out the fossil from his backpack and handed it over to Bill.

"Don't worry Ash," he said with a smile. "I promise you that within a week, you'll have your very own Kabuto." They chatted for a while more and Ash decided to time to go. He said his good byes and began walking back to the city. He had only taken a few steps when a yellow blur jumped passed him.

"Hey, that's not yours. Let go." Bill screamed behind him. Ash quickly turned around to see a small yellow pokemon pull the fossil right out of Bill's hand. The pokemon gave a wild smile and began to run away from the scene.

"Hey you." Ash yelled. "Give that back." Seeing no reaction from the fleeing pokemon, Ash tossed two pokeball into the air releasing his pokemon. "Saur, Ajax, that pokemon took something important to us. Ajax, go underground and trap him." Trapinch nodded and immediately dived into the ground. Ash turned towards his starter. "Let's go catch that thief." Ivysaur roared and they set off.

The pokemon had been evading them for a few minutes. It looked back and found no trace of its pursuers. No sooner than it had taken a single step forward did it feel itself sinking into the ground. By then it was too late to escape, it's feet began sinking into the ground. Soon it found itself facing an angry Trapinch.

Ash and Ivysaur soon caught up to them. He eyes popped out when he saw that it was an Elekid that had stolen the fossil. Elekid were extremely rare pokemon to be found in the wild. Only the strongest of Electivire could together give rise to a baby Elekid. Elekid who evolve into their final evolutions were known to be much more powerful than the Electabuzz who evolved to their final forms.

The Electivire evolutionary line were bulky fighters capable of taking hits and being able to deliver even greater ones. They had a great movepool and were usually the cornerstone of their respective teams.

To Ash's surprise, the trapped Elekid did not look even fluttered against Trapinch. "Trapinch, use Bite." Ash called out. Trapinch screeched and darted towards the Elekid. Just as he was about to tear into its arm, the Elekid's left hand shone in blue light. Just as fast, it hit the charging Trapinch right on his head.

The brute force of the attack caused Trapinch to be thrown off a few feet away. What was surprising was that there was a small piece of ice stuck on Trapinch's head. Ash was absolutely shocked, first he found a fossil an then found an Elekid in the wild and it knew an egg move too ? How lucky could he get ? He swore he would regret it if the Elekid escaped.

"Trapinch, can you connect us to the Elekid ?" Ash asked. Trapinch now back to him feet dove underground again. It then a few minutes, but he managed to create a pathway for Ash to reach the Elekid.

Ash noticed the fossil was no longer with the Elekid who was now firmly interested in them. Ash motioned for Trapinch to retrieve the fossil and he set off. Ash took a look at Elekid, who was spinning his arms around.

"You seem to be a powerful pokemon," he said. The Elekid looked surprised at his statement but merely screeched. "Not many pokemon can do that to Trapinch in a single attack." The Elekid simply raised his arms and grunted.

Ash looked at the opposing pokemon and smiled. "I have a challenge for you." He grinned. "You're obviously a strong pokemon, so I have to send my strongest to battle you. If you can beat my starter, you're free to go. If my pokemon can beat you, you have to join me. You ready for it ?"

The Elekid gave a smile and began rotating his arms. "All right then. Saur you're up." Ivysaur stepped forward with a roar. "All right then, let's begin." Ash called out. Trapinch returned with the fossil and Ash safely placed it inside his backpack.

Elekid screeched as it stepped closer. It let loose a Thundershock straight at Ivysaur who took it head on. The electric attack fazed him but nevertheless he stood his ground. "Saur, use Tackle attack." Ash commanded. Ivysaur set off towards the Elekid, now well used to his new body.

The attack hit the Elekid hard and he was thrown into the air. He hit the ground hard and rolled over the dirt path. However, he quickly got back to his feet. He began rotating his arms once more as he began charging power.

He then began moving towards Ivysaur, suddenly he disappeared in a flash. In a matter of seconds, he appeared in front of Ivysaur and slammed into him.

Ash quickly recognized the move as Quick Attack. While the move seemed strong, it appeared to do only little damage to Ivysaur who brushed it off easily. Deciding to take the battle up a notch, Ash decided to go all out with the next move. "Saur, use Tackle once more." Ash commanded.

Ivysaur darted off to his foe once again. This time Elekid was prepared, he began charging up an Ice Punch to strike his foe.

"Keep going Saur." Ash called out. Ivysaur continued as the distance between them reduced. "Now use your vines to throw him into the air."

The Elekid who was focused on his opponents body could do nothing as two strong wines gripped him from either sides and flung him into the air. "End this with Leaf Storm."

Ivysaur raised his head and multiple leaves rose into the air near him and he began glowing green. The leaves began spiralling and soon they began moving towards the Elekid.

The wild pokemon who was currently in the air could do nothing as the flurry of leaves struck him continuously. The attack ended just as he was about to strike the earth. Fortunately, Ivysaur grabbed it's body just before it struck the earth. He brought the Elekid before them, it's body filled with cuts.

The weakened Pokémon slowly got back to his feet, accepting defeat. "You're good." Ash smiled. "But you can get even better. If you'll come with me, I'll help you become the strongest Electivire of your species."

Elekid's eyes shone brightly as he began rotating his arms once again. "It's good to have you on the team Elekid," he said as tossed an empty pokeball towards the defeated pokemon.

The pokeball rolled thrice and it stopped, signifying the completion of the capture. He brought his two Pokémon close. "Let's meet our newest capture now shall we ?" He grinned.

He tossed the pokeball into the air releasing his newest capture. After it materialized before him, he took a few potions from his backpack and applied it on his new pokemon. After he was done, he took out his pokedex and pointed towards Elekid. "This is going to give me information about you okay ?" He said with a smile.

 _Elekid, the Electric Pokemon. It occasionally rotates it arms to generate electricity. Even under vicious storm, this pokemon plays happily under the thundering sky._

This _Elekid is Male and has the ability Static, which causes paralysis to an opposing pokemon on physical contact._

 _This Pokemon knows the following moves : Quick Attack, Thundershock, Low Kick, Leer and Ice Punch._

 _Note : The move Ice Punch is an egg move._

"Very nice, Elekid. You have some good moves." Ash laughed. Elekid smiled and pointed at his developing muscles. "Say Elekid, would you like a nickname." Ash asked.

Elekid merely screeched and began rotating his arms, which Ash assumed his new capture did when he was excited.

"All right then." Ash began. "How about Thor ?" Ash asked. The Elekid happily nodded and jumped on Ash, only for Ash to receive a small electric shock. The Elekid began smiling as his teammates laughed at their trainer, as they too joined in on the embrace.

Not soon after, Ash returned back to Bill's house with the retrieved fossil, along with a new addition to his team. Bill was thankful the fossil had been retrieved and promised to inform the Pokemon Centre as soon as he returned from Saffron City.

Thanking Bill once again, Ash began traveling back to the city. Now with the capture of a new teammate, he had to focus on the next important mission, defeating the Cerulean City gym leader.

XxXxXxX


	6. The Sensational Sisters

Ash stood by a field near the Pokemon Center. He was overlooking a training session for his pokemon. His first two were strong enough so, he didn't want to overwork them. Rather he had Saur and Ajax perfect all of their current moves. One reason was to be able to utilize the move to it's maximum potential. Another reason, to decrease the time it would take to shift between different attacks in a battle.

Once they completed it, he had Saur learn how to mix the different the chemicals in his bulb used for his powder attacks. He wanted this because he wanted to know what the outcome would be if he combined different powder attacks.

For Ajax, he had the ground type to use Dig rapidly so that he could do by instinct if an opponent surprised him. He also had him to Sandstorm to improve the move's potency and strength.

While his other pokemon trained by themselves, Ash was with his newest capture for most of their session. Thor was a powerhouse, he had quite a diverse movepool for a baby pokemon. His Ice Punch was his strongest move, possibly due his great usage of it although his Low Kick and Quick Attack were fairly strong too.

However his Thundershock was strangely weak and Ash preferred all the help he could get going into the gym battle. So, they spent the morning attacking rocks with the electric move. By the time the session was over, the move had strengthened quite a bit and Ash was pleased.

Things were finally going good for him after the episode at the mountain. Bill had travelled to Saffron City, the previous day. He said he would return in a few days time and Ash couldn't wait. The thought of owning a fossil pokemon still excited him. However it also frightened him at the same time as pokemon was going to be introduced to a time period different than its own. Ash was certain he would face a few problems in the coming future.

It was nearing lunch time and he decided to end the session. "All right guys," he said with a smile. "Good job, now you can use all your moves much more faster. That's definitely going to come in handy." His reply was a mixture of growls and grunts to which he laughed.

Ash then called of the session and headed back to the Pokemon Center for lunch. He headed to the cafeteria and ordered a few sandwiches. He laid out food for his pokemon and began to eat.

After they were done eating, Ash decided he would have a look around the city. He had just left the Pokemon Center and only took a couple of steps when, a stranger absentmindedly knocked into him, clashing heads with one another.

"Hey ! Watch where you're going loser." The person said rubbing his head. "Aw man, this is gonna leave a mark."

"It was your fault dude. You bumped into me." Ash replied, also rubbing his head. Ash took another look at the person, who looked rather familiar. "Gary ?" Ash questioned.

"Dammit Ashy boy, can't you be more careful ?" Gary replied with a dry laugh. Ash just brought his hands to his face in exasperation.

XxXxXxX

After tending to their bruised heads, the duo sat by the shade of a nearby tree. Both the trainers had released their pokemon, who began playing with one another. Ash stared at Gary's team. His Charmeleon was basking in the sunlight, while the two Nidoran were playing with Trapinch. A Poliwag and Pigeotto was jumping around the bushes playing with the wild pokemon. What surprised him the most, was the presence of an Abra resting near Gary.

"How many pokemon did you capture so far Gary ?" Ash asked curiously.

"We'll, I don't want to brag but I caught over thirty." Gary winked as he rubbed Abra's head. "I found this guy in a battle with a Raticate. I caught him just after he defeated the Raticate."" He looked up at Ash and grinned at his awestruck look. "I know what you're thinking, how did it defeat a Raticate ? Aren't wild Abra usually supposed to know only Teleport ? Well, this guy knows Fire Punch too. He's also surprisingly, not very lazy."

"You're kidding me." Ash said, surprised by the news. "Seriously, how is this even possible ?"

"I wondered about that too." Gary replied. "So, I called up Gramps and told him. He told me that, all the Regional Leagues decided to introduce some of their pokemon to different regions, a while back. Something about trainers being able to showcase various new species in a team."

"Okay, I get it" Ash rolled his eyes. "Back to the point, Gare bear."

"He told me that that a few of the Meditite species were introduced in the area surrounding Cerulean City." Gary said. "It's evolution, Medicham is capable of learning all three elemental punches. So, as time went by, some may have wandered off and mated with a member of the Abra line and this is what happened after."

Ash nodded his head slightly. "Yea, that must be it. But still, you're so lucky Gary." Ash laughed.

"Says the guy who captured an Elekid. I mean, the last known Elekid to be captured in the wild belonged to that guy from Sinnoh who won the Lily of the Valley Conference. Reggie, I think his name was." Gary said scratching his chin. "Look at how that turned out. His Electivire is an absolute monster. Do you know how lucky you are ?" Gary retorted.

"I guess you're right." Ash said sheepishly scratching his head. "I was really lucky that I encountered him."

"Tell you what." Gary winked. "Let's have a one on one battle by that patch of grass, with our latest captures."

"I like the sound of that." Ash grinned. "Thor, come here bud." Hearing the call of his trainer, Elekid ran towards him. "Hey bud, we have a battle now. You up for it ?"

Elekid's screech was all that Ash needed to know. "All right then," he laughed. "Step right up, Thor." Elekid began rotating his arms as he approached the makeshift battle field.

"Abra, it's time to battle." Gary said calmly. The Abra yawned and lifted itself into the air using telekinetic abilities and moved towards the field. Upon reaching the field, it positioned itself and stood firm on its feet. "Let's get this battle started Ashy boy, you have the first move."

"All right Gary, your loss." Ash smirked. "Thor, use Thunder Shock." Thor let out a screech as he began charging electrical energy. A few seconds later, he released a small bolt of lightning towards his opponent.

"Abra, use Teleport to evade." Gary commanded. In a flash, the Abra disappeared from its original position with a speed unusual for it's species as the bolt of current harmlessly hit the grass. "Didn't think it would be that easy, did you Ashy boy ?"

"Nope." Ash smiled. "Thor, let's do something else. Get in close with Quick Attack." Thor obeyed as he disappeared into a blur and headed straight for Abra.

Just as Thor was about to crash into Abra, Gary called out. "Abra, trip him up." Manipulating the grass around his foe's feet, Abra succeeded in throwing Thor off balance and into the floor rolling. Knowing it was his chance, Gary ordered "Abra, time to attack. Use Fire Punch."

"Thor get back up and counter with Low Kick. Knock it off balance before it hits you." Ash declared. Elekid screeched and jumped back on his feet and began rushing towards his opponent.

Once the distance between both pokemon were close enough, Elekid ducked, ready to swing it leg into Abra. "Abra, jump while he swings his leg. Attack him once you reach the ground.

Ash cursed under his breath as Abra performed a graceful jump over Thor who struck out his leg but completely avoided hitting the psychic type. Abra landed back on his feet and struck the Elekid before he could regain composure sending him a couple meters away.

Elekid struck the earth and saided up a column of dust but could not stop as he still rolling at awkward angles. At that instant, Thor unconsciously let loose a discharge of electricity which appeared to revolve around the electric type. The incident was over in a matter of seconds but lucky Ash noticed it. "I wonder ?" Ash thought to himself.

"Abra." Gary remarked. "Use another Fire Punch, finish it." Abra nodded and began rushing towards his opponent, it's right hand covered in flames. Thor was still on the ground and there was no time to get back up on his feet. Ash was at a pause on what to do next.

"Thor, I'm going to tell you something that'll sound weird, but you got to trust me okay ?. Thor gave a small screech in reply.

"We're gonna win this Ashy boy." Gary smirked as Abra closed in. "It's over."

"Not by a long shot." Ash grinned. "Thor, I have an idea. Spin on the ground and use Thunder Shock." The Elekid gave a confused look but did as he was asked. He began spinning his body slowly while charging electricity. He released it quickly and the bolt of current began spinning around his body, acting like a shield. It hit the charging Abra, who was struck by the current.

"What ?" Gary's screamed in surprise. He looked on in concern as Abra remained still for a few seconds. "Abra, are you okay ?" Thankfully, the Abra slowly nodded it's head.

Unfortunately, it was in vain as Elekid was quickly back up on his feet and awaiting a new command. "Thor, get back up and end this with Ice Punch." Ash called out. Elekid screeched again as his hand was covered in ice before he began rushing towards the weakened Abra.

"Abra, get out of there. Teleport." Gary yelled desperately. Before it could react, Elekid's icy fist slammed into his foe, knocking him a few meters away. As the dust cleared, Abra remained on the floor, unable to continue.

"Well well, looks like you got some skills Ashy boy." Gary said recalling his pokemon. "I'd expect nothing else from my rival." Gary continued with a laugh. "What's your next plan ?"

"It was a good battle Gary." Ash replied. "I guess I'll challenge the Cerulean Gym soon. What about you ?"

"I just beat the Cerulean Gym yesterday, the gym leaders weren't that tough. I guess I'll soon be heading to Vermilion City next." Gary said. "Or I may end up going to Lavender Town. Ghost types are rare after all," he smirked. With that, Gary got back up to his feet and gave a mock salute. "Take care Ashy boy, next time we meet. We'll have a proper battle."

Ash saluted him back and winked. "You're just sore because I won Gary," he laughed. "I'll hold you to that battle then. Till then," he smiled as waved goodbye to his rival.

"Be careful about what you wish for Ashy boy." Gary laughed as he waved back and began walking away from the field.

After Gary left, Ash turned to his newest capture and encased him in a hug. "Aaaahhhhh," he groaned as he met with a mild shock from the surprised electric type. His pokemon began laughing at his predicament and soon he started laughing too.

"What I wanted to say before I was rudely shocked by our new friend here..." Ash laughed as Elekid began rotating his arms like a mad man. "… was. Good battle Thor ! You did great. I have a name for the move you just did. Let's call it Counter Shield !. Now, we just have to win at the Cerulean Gym." His pokemon gave their voices of approval as they continued their training session.

XxXxXxX

The next day, Ash stood in front of the Cerulean City Gym. His hands in his pocket as he viewed the building before him. The gym had the appearance of an entertainment centre rather that a proper gym for pokemon battles. He had to check twice if he was in the right venue.

He opened the door and stepped inside. It lead into a giant lobby containing various sculptures of various water type pokemon. He walked towards the receptionist, an extremely attractive girl with blonde hair. "Hi, I'm here for a gym battle." Ash said with a smile.

"Well, you sure came in at the right time !" The girl replied cheerfully. "I was getting bored, sitting here all alone. I'm Daisy, by the way." She giggled at him and then hit a button on a table in front of her and spoke into the speaker system. "Lily, Violet, we have a challenger. One of you get your butts to reception, cus I'll be battling him."

She got up from the desk and gestured towards a door. "Follow me please, before my sisters show up." Daisy laughed as she lead the way. She opened the door and looked back at him. "We don't have any shows today, so we can have a nice long battle," she winked suggestively. It took Ash all he had to not blush up a storm.

They entered the room and the first thing Ash noticed was the presence of a big pool of water that looked fairly deep – the perfect environment for a water pokemon to battle efficiently. There were multiple circular platforms placed around it to allow movement on land. Near the walls of the room were four pillars for each of the corners. They contained images of various water types engraved on it, showcasing the majesty and power of different species. The room also had stands for the audience to sit, he assumed this room also doubled as their performance room as it was quite spacious.

He suddenly heard quite a few shrieks behind him. He tilted his head back and noticed two girls were walking towards him. He also noticed that they were stunningly beautiful. "I'll be right back. I have to deal with them first." Daisy muttered apologetically as walked towards the advancing sisters.

Ash waited for a few minutes until it seemed like the sisters finally stopped arguing. Daisy entered a few seconds later accompanied by the pink haired girl he saw earlier. "Sorry for that Ash, I had to deal with my younger sisters," she rolled her eyes. "She gestured at her sister. This is Lily and she'll be our referee for today."

Lily made her way to the referee's stand and began the announcement. "This will be a two on two battle. Only the challenger will be able to switch pokemon. The victor will the the who knocks out both the opponent's pokemon, however forfeit is allowed. Are both trainers ready ?"

As both trainers nodded in agreement, the referee shouted. "Trainers, release your pokemon!"

Daisy tossed a pokeball into the air and it released a yellow bipedal duck having a cream colored beak. Ash recognized it immediately as a Psyduck. He then began analyzing what he knew about the species.

The Psyduck's line usually depended primarily on water type attacks but were known to be able to use psychic attacks occasionally. However, the psychic attacks were rather weak in their present forms and would only be effective once they evolved into Golduck.

He sent out his newest capture. Thor landed on one of the circular platforms and quickly began rotating his arms and began charging electricity.

Daisy had a look of astonishment on her face. "Wow ! An Elekid," she exclaimed. "You must be one lucky trainer."

"I sure am." Ash admitted. "Let's get this started shall we ?" He grinned mischievously. "Thor, get in close with Quick Attack." The Elekid grunted and disappeared in a flash as he slammed into its opponent who groaned in pain.

"Getting the first hit in, I see." Daisy smiled. "I'm glad this battle won't be too boring. Psyduck, get in close and use Fury Swipes." Psyduck steadied itself as it proceeded to charge towards Elekid.

"Thor, dodge." Ash commanded as Psyduck began swiping at Thor with a multitude of slashes from multiple positions and angles. However, it was in vain as Thor successfully evaded them all. "Now, counter-attack with Quick Attack." Elekid screeched as he charged towards the opponent.

"The first time was a lucky shot." Daisy admitted suddenly. "Too bad you won't be able to do it again," she smirked. "Psyduck, use Disable." Suddenly, Psyduck's eyes began glowing blue as a blue aura appeared around it. Blue rings began forming in front of it and were quickly released. The rings struck the charging Elekid head on as the Quick Attack dissipated.

Ash clenched his fist. He had not been expecting that to happen. Disable was a telekinetic move that forced a pokemon to be unable to perform a certain move for a varying time period. Usually, it was used to put an end to the opponent's strategies or in the very least, delay them for a while. The only drawback of the move was that it left the user tired for a span of a few seconds which was enough to change the tide of a battle.

"All right Thor, change of plans. Charge towards Psyduck." Ash commanded. Elekid screeched again as he ran up towards his foe.

"Use Scald and keep it up." Daisy ordered. Psyduck nodded it's head and stood still for a few seconds. It then released a stream of boiling water towards the charging opponent. "Increase its power," it's trainer cried out as the Psyduck began applying more energy into the move and soon, a powerful spiral of hot water began zooming towards Elekid.

Watching the attack move closer towards him, Elekid quickly side stepped. He raised his head and noticed that his opponent was recovering from the previous move. "Quick Elekid, use Thunder Shock. Give it no time to recover." Ash shouted. His pokemon grinned as sparks appeared around his horns. After a few seconds, he released a electrical blast towards the tired foe. It struck Psyduck head on as it cried out in pain.

"Psyduck, into the water." Daisy called out. Wasting no time, Psyduck moved towards the water, it's body still weak after getting hit by the super effective attack. With a graceful jump, Psyduck hit the waters. "Keep moving around. Confuse them," she ordered. Psyduck obeyed as he kept constantly changing his position in the pool.

"Daisy, you do realise that water conducts electricity right ?" Ash asked with a frown. Viewing her shocked figure, he sighed. "Thor, use Thunder Shock on the pool and end this." He didn't want to do go through with it but he had rather limited options.

Thor screeched as he spun his arms as sparks started generating from his horns.

"Psyduck, use Disable quickly. Don't let it attack." Daisy yelled desperately. Fortunately for her, Psyduck had successfully disabled the move. "Good try Ash. You almost had me there," she grinned.

"Almost ?" Ash smirked. "What makes you think that was the entire plan ? Thor, use Ice Punch. Freeze the water."

With no hesitation, Thor charged forward, his right hand glowing with a icy hue and proceeded to strike the pool. Psyduck, who was still tired from using Disable could only watch in horror as the water around him began to freeze.

"Quick, get out of the water Psyduck." Daisy cried out. Unfortunately, Psyduck was still tired and struggled to escape. "Wait, stop the attack." Daisy called out, giving a small nod to Lily. "I forfeit this round."

With a sigh, Daisy recalled Psyduck and whispered a word of thanks to the sphere before returning it to her belt. "That was an excellent battle Ash." Daisy smiled warmly. "I thought you would have panicked when I used Disable but you found a way to overcome it and beat me at my own game albeit with a few mistakes of my own." She tossed a second pokeball into the air. "But this is as far as you'll go." She grinned.

The pokemon that appeared on the platform had a blue, bipedal pokemon with a spherical body. It had two bulbous eyes protruding from the top of its head. Black and white stripes covered it's body. It waved it's arms towards Lily and Daisy, who waved back.

A Poliwhirl was to be his next opponent. A water type that could use ranged moves or get close and use physical attacks. It also had the advantage of being a skilled user of Hypnosis. The stripes on its belly caused drowsiness to anyone who stared at it.

Using Thor wouldn't be a great idea as he was used to fighting close range. Besides, with two of his moves disabled, there wasn't much he would be able to do. With that line of thought, he made his decision. "I'd like to make a substitution." Ash said to Lily.

"The challenger's request is granted. Please send out your second pokemon." Lily declared.

Upon seeing Thor's distraught expression, Ash motioned for Thor to come closer and knelt beside him. "You did a great job buddy." Ash smiled as he rubbed Elekid's arm, static electricity hitting his hand. But your opponent likes battling against close range fighters. But who knows ? If it defeats Saur, I'll bring you back out to defeat it." Ash continued with a laugh.

Thor let out a sad grunt and hung his head low. Suddenly he moved his head forward, striking Ash's right arm, send static electricity all over his body. The Elekid let out a burst of laughter which Ash soon followed. He looked at his newest capture and smiled. "Take a good long rest." With that, Ash unclipped a pokeball from his belt and returned the electric type.

Tossing another pokeball into the air, the form of his starter, Ivysaur, appeared before him. The grass type let out a roar to the opposing Poliwhirl who looked confused.

"Well well Ash, you sure do have some interesting pokemon." Daisy chuckled. Her expression grew serious. "Let's start the battle now, shall we ?"

Seeing Ash nod his head, Lily slashed her hand downwards. "The second round between the challenger Ash of Pallet Town and the Gym Leader will now begin."

"Poliwhirl, use Mud Shot." Daisy commanded. Nodding it's head, the Poliwhirl took a deep breath and began forming a large ball of mud from its mouth. It fired the ball which took off at an impressive speed.

"Saur." Ash declared. "Use Razor Leaf, destroy it." With a grunt, multiple razor sharp leaves emerged from under the pink bud on his back and zoomed towards the incoming ball of mud and slashed it apart.

"Okay, that was a first." Daisy said, dumbfounded by what she saw. "No matter, Use Ice Beam Poli." Poliwhirl acknowledged her and began forming a light blue in its hands. A second later, multiple streaks struck out and began moving rapidly towards Ivysaur.

"It's coming way too fast, Saur can't dodge it. What do I do ?" Ash thought as the cold streaks of ice moved closer. With a sigh, he called out. "Saur, use Amnesia and take the hit." He preferred not using Amnesia but had no other choice.

Amnesia was a mysterious move that targeted the brain of a pokemon. Once used, the user would feel like it's defence increased but rather it merely forgot the pain it received from a previous attack for a period of time.

Using the move, a few times in a short span could cause the pokemon to forget recent memories. There were reports of pokemon turning on their trainers due to repeated usage of the move. Such news made him wary to allow the usage of it on one of his own.

Ivysaur began glowing with a dull purple hue indicating the move had been used. The Ice Beam struck head on but appeared to not do much damage. Ivysaur grunted and moved a vine eagerly.

Ash laughed. "All right Saur, use Vine Whip and smack him. Two vines protruded out from it bulb and struck the opposing Poliwhirl. The loud smacks from the vine made it scream in pain.

"No, Poliwhirl." Daisy cried out. "Poli, I want you to grab that vine and pull that Ivysaur with it. Bearing with the suffering, he pulled the next vine that came close to his body and yanked it towards him. Ivysaur let out a screech as he was thrown in the air towards his foe.

"Saur." Ash declared. "Retract your vines and switch into Take Down." With a bit of effort, Ivysaur managed to pull back the vine that Poliwhirl held on losing it to lose balance. It then aligned itself as it prepared to deliver a Take Down.

Ash grinned. The attack would be impossible to dodge as the distance between the two pokemon was short. He'd definitely won this battle.

"I won't go down that easily Ash." Daisy laughed. "Poli, use Ice Beam to create a slide and aim it to the wall."

The Poliwhirl quickly created a icy slide a few feet in front of it, inclined so that Ivysaur's speed would increase and would strike the wall and damage himself.

Ivysaur who was already moving in the air could do nothing as he hit the icy slide softly. He could feel his speed increasing but couldn't stop moving. He quickly flew out of the slide and was approaching the wall.

"Saur." Ash called out. "Don't freak out." Although he, himself did not know what to do. His mind went into overdrive, thinking what could be done to prevent his starter from smashing into the wall. It was then he actually took into account the presence of the pillars.

"Saur, use your vines and swing around the pillar near you. I know it sounds crazy but you've got to trust me." Ash yelled wildly.

Ivysaur bellowed in hesitation but his faith in his trainer steeled his resolve. Sending out two vines, he grabbed the pillar and swing around back to the direction of the pool. Pride was evident on his face after seeing the wonder struck expression his trainer had.

"Now, use Razor Leaf." Ash announced. With a screech, Saur released multiple sharp Leaves from under his pink bud which flew at an intense velocity towards Poliwhirl. Both Poliwhirl and it's trainer stood in shook, watching the turn of events. Daisy didn't even have the time to tell her pokemon to dodge when the razor sharp leaves pierced Poliwhirl's body. Poliwhirl's cries shook Daisy out of her stupor.

"Poli, get in close." Daisy stated. Poliwhirl banged his chest and let out a grunt as he charged towards Ivysaur. Once she felt, Poliwhirl was close enough. "Use Hypnosis." Daisy grinned.

Ash cursed under his breath. It was to close to dodge. He had to think… He went back to his battle with Gary. Wait ! That was it. He had Counter Shield. Counter Shield was an accident but he saw the potential in it. But would it even work against a status move ? He figured it was worth a shot as a flurry of ideas began popping up in his head. He took a deep breath and noticed that Poliwhirl was ready to fire Hypnosis.

"Saur," he called out. "Remember our battle with Gary ?" Saur tilted his head as if he meant to ask if this was really the best time to discuss it. Irregardless, the Ivysaur bellowed in approval.

"Right." Ash continued. "Remember what Thor did ? Counter Shield ?" Seeing his starter nod his head slowly, he asked. "Do you think you can do it, only with Razor Leaf though ?"

By this time, Poliwhirl had raised both his gloved hands and formed a bluish ring in front of it. "It was a good battle Ash." Daisy smiled. "But, it's over. Poli, release." Poliwhirl grunted as he released the ring of psychic energy towards the grass type.

"Saur, you can do it." Ash announced. "Use Counter Shield." After releasing two vines, to maintain balance. Ivysaur rose and began spinning on his hind legs and used Razor Leaf which began revolving around the grass type starter. A few seconds later, the Psychic move struck Counter Shield but quickly dissipated.

"What ?" Daisy yelled, surprised by the revelation. "How is this even possible ?" Poliwhirl had the same dumbstruck expression it's trainer had. It couldn't believe the attack failed to hit it's mark.

"All right, time to win this." Ash vocalized. "Saur, finish it with Leaf Storm." Ivysaur glowed green as he began releasing a flurry of glowing leaves from his bulb. The super effective move struck Poliwhirl head on as it was too close to dodge it.

By the time the attack concluded, the figure of Poliwhirl fell on the ground. It was laying still, unable to continue any further.

Lily sighed. "Poliwhirl is unable to battle, victory goes to the challenger."

"Yes !" Ash muttered excitedly. Pumping his fists in the air. He had done it. Though it was nerve wrecking at times, he had won his second gym badge.

Daisy recalled Poliwhirl and returned the pokeball to her belt. She walked towards Lily who handed her two items enclosed in a case. He then approached Ash and gave him a wide smile. "Great job Ash. You battled really well. You used sound strategy though different from the norm and successfully managed to defeat the Cerulean Gym."

She opened the case and took out a teardrop shaped badge. "This is the Cascade Badge, given to trainers who defeat the Cerulean Gym." She then took out a TM from the case. "This TM here is Scald. I only got to use it a few times in our battle but I assure you, it's a lifesaver in battle. After storing the badge in his own badge case and storing the TM in the TM case, he waved goodbye at Daisy and turned and began to walk out.

"Wait," he heard Daisy say. He turned his head and saw Daisy approaching. "I wanted to give you one more gift." She smiled mischievously. "Close your eyes first."

Ash did as he was asked. A few seconds later, he felt a pair of lips on his cheek. He quickly opened his eyes in surprise as his face blushed crimson. Daisy pulled back and began giggling at his awestruck expression. "Goodbye Ash," she winked. "I'll be rooting for you in the Indigo Conference."

" All right…." Ash took a deep breath to calm himself. "Thanks Daisy." He smiled and waved, his face still flushing crimson as he began walking towards the exit.

Daisy giggled as she returned back inside the battle room where her sisters had gathered. "This battling thing is fun sometimes." Daisy smiled.

Lily, plopped down on the seats and let out a groan. "You're only saying that because you battled a cute kid. Besides he wasn't that strong. I'm sure that the runt could have beat him," she muttered.

Daisy looked at her sister and grinned. "No way !" She exclaimed. "That kid was seemed different, I don't think the runt would have won. Anyway, speaking of the runt. When's she coming back home ?"

Lily smirked. "She said she'll be back latest by next week. I'm surprised she isn't staying in Hoenn for a while longer, I know I would. The guys there are so hot." She laughed with her sister following suit.

XxXxXxX

"Would Trainer Ash Ketchum please come to reception? Your pokemon have been healed." Nurse Joy's voice came from the speakers. "Would Trainer Ash Ketchum please come to reception ?" Upon hearing his name called out, Ash got out of his room and headed over to the reception.

Nurse Joy smiled and handed him three pokeballs. "Here you go Ash, your pokemon have been healed. None of them have had any serious damage from their gym battle and are able to continue training at the earliest."

"Thanks Nurse Joy." Ash smiled back and turned to go back to his room.

"Oh wait Ash." Nurse Joy called out. "Bill called and informed me that he would be arriving within two days. He also said to tell you that it was a success or something of the sort."

Ash's smile grew so wide, he felt it would fall off his face. "Thanks a lot Nurse Joy. Good night."

"Good night Ash." She replied before moving back to her duties, Chansey walking diligently beside her.

As Ash returned to his room, he couldn't help but wonder how things would turn out in a matter of two days, where he would get to welcome another member into his team. Putting off the thought for later, he laid out food for himself and his pokemon, which they quickly devoured. Ash smiled. His pokemon were really like him.

He soon jumped into the bed, surrounded by his pokemon. He looked over his team once again before closing his eyes. Life was good !

XxXxXxX

 **AN : Hey Guys, it's been a while. I took a break from the story for a while because of personal reasons. Now that I've returned, I noticed a couple of other fic's having the same title name as mine. Hence i decided to change the Story's title to Zenith. I also found out that I've unknowingly named my pokemon with previously used names from other fics. I have since changed them into new ones.**

 **Please review and give opinions. Thanks !**


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